Rounding off his “Oslo Trilogy,” Joachim Trier introduces The Worst Person in the World, a film about steadiness and vulnerability. It follows Julie (Renate Reinsve), an indecisive woman in her 20’s, as she struggles to find her purpose and place in the world. She goes from med-school dropout, to psychology student, to mediocre photographer, and meets the men that come along with these fields. She constantly rejects steadiness and stability, always in search of a satisfaction she damn well knows will never exist. But along with that come her male partners, with whom she also does not know what she truly wants in terms of a relationship, but knows what she currently has is not enough. She’s a girl who doesn’t know how to be vulnerable – vulnerable in what she wants, and vulnerable in her honesty, as proven by the near-affairs she has with other partners.
What works so well is the conflict that’s always worn on Julie’s face. She has a bone structure and piercing glare that one can tell, just by looking at her, she feels something is off, despite her words being different from how she feels.
There’s an omniscient voiceover throughout the film that’s used to convey these inner thoughts and desires of Julie which she is too afraid to speak out loud herself. It’s a constant counterpoint from what’s going on screen, that is, until midway through the film, where the voiceover overlays on top of and matches the dialogue as a result of Julie finally embracing her vulnerability.
The film dares to convey how we blame ourselves for the punishment to come as a result of our selfish acts and desires, and how it can very much feel like the end of the world. It’s called The Worst Person in the World for a reason, because that’s the very feeling we have when we feel like we’re betraying the trust of the ones closest to us. Are we bad people for what we want at the expense of others’ suffering? Trier continues his cinematic language of intimacy here through character relationships, brought to a higher, more poignant, and ethereal level.