The Best Rom-Com In The World
Norwegian filmmaker, Joachim Trier creates a deeply intimate and personal romantic comedy that breaks all the norms in the genre. This isn’t your typical Rom-Com, The Worst Person in the World follows the story of a woman by the name of Julie (Renate Reinsve) who has run head first into an intimate relationship. However, as time goes on, she starts to realize that maybe she wants something else out of life, something her current boyfriend can’t provide. Over the course of several years we see Julie kind of float through life, jumping from one passion to the next which will eventually lead to her cheating on her boyfriend (Anders Daneilsen Lie) with a taken man (Herbert Nordrum).. Split into 12 chapters plus a prologue and epilogue, we watch a deeply special, and oftentimes sexual, story unfold with some amazing performances from Julie and her co-stars.
Why It’s OK To Be The Worst Person In The World
What’s really interesting about this film is that we find ourselves rooting for the “Worst Person in the World” (a title that Joachim thought was amusing for a rom-com). We want to see Julie grow into the person she wants to be and for her to be happy and confident in what she wants, but she seemingly has to cheat in order to achieve this. The audience would more than likely agree that cheating is a pretty horrible thing to put your partner through. So then why do we root for Julie? Is it because maybe we ourselves have at some point doubted our choices and current direction in life? Joachim seems to think so. He believes that it’s extremely human to want to explore other outcomes and live different lives. So do we root for her because we see ourselves in the sense that we aren’t satisfied with our current relationships, careers, and families? Maybe so. This internal struggle for Julie, and to some extent the viewers, is part of what makes this film so great. It causes you to really think about the actions of ourselves and others who are desperately searching for that one thing that’ll make them happy. And with all that self reflection and thinking, it still manages to be incredibly intimate, both personally and sexually. As Aksel so eloquently put it in the film, it’s like “intellectual Viagra”.
Self Love and the Fear of Time Passing
When you think of a rom-com you’ll probably think of films like 50 First Dates, The Big Sick, or The Proposal, where two people meet and fall in love and despite it all, end up together. This film has a fresh take on the genre making it more about finding self-love. We see Julie desperately trying to find what will make her happy, but something always gets in the way. Time and uncertainty is Julie’s enemy here. She begins to worry that being with someone older almost forces her towards motherhood. In order to escape the looming responsibility of bearing children, she crashes a party and falls in love with a man much closer in age. She starts dating him but then is worried that he doesn’t challenge her enough, thus causing her to not follow her career pursuits. She’s been jumping from job to job hoping she doesn’t find her true passion too late in life. When Julie learns that an old friend is dying she tries to reconnect in fear of missing out on time with them. This constant fear of time passing and not knowing who she is drives Julie to be this so-called Worst Person in the World.
While this whole film takes place over the course of several years, Julie slowly realizes that in order to find the perfect career choice or the perfect partner, she first needs to find herself and to fall in love with what she finds. This idea of self love is something that we don’t see too often as the main focus of a rom-com. It’s something that we should see in more films since what this movie sort of illustrates is that it’s OK to not know who you are yet and that you have plenty of time to grow into someone that you’ll genuinely love. In a way, this film acts like a coming-of-age story but for viewers in their mid to late 20s.
Closing Remarks
This film was truly beautiful; shot on film and on location with such a small crew, you can feel the passion for this film from everyone involved. This movie will probably really resonate with people in their mid 20s, those in college who are starting to question their career choices, and people who are trying to learn more about themselves. Wonderfully acted, beautifully shot, and with an entertaining plot, this is a film you won’t want to miss.
The Worst Person In The World played in the Spotlight section of Sundance Film Festival 2022.
Director: Joachim Trier
Writers: Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier
Rated: R
Runtime: 127m
Ever since I was young, I had always been fascinated in film and the work that goes into them. I love animation, blockbuster hits, indie films and everything in between. Some day I’ll have the privilege of being apart of the filmmaking process.