The Worst Person in the World (2021)
★★★★ — The Worst Person in the World (2021)
Joachim Trier had already established himself as one of Scandinavia's most thoughtful filmmakers through Reprise (2006) and Oslo, August 31st (2011) before completing this third entry in what he calls his Oslo trilogy, each film loosely connected by setting and sensibility rather than shared characters. The Worst Person in the World was co-written with his regular collaborator Eskil Vogt (who was simultaneously directing his own film, The Innocents, that same year) and shot largely on location in Oslo with a modest five-million-dollar budget across the four Nordic co-producing countries. Renate Reinsve, largely unknown outside Norway at the time, won the Best Actress prize at Cannes 2021 for her performance as Julie, and the film went on to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best International Feature Film, giving Trier his widest international audience yet.
A-Z World Movie Tour Norway For a moment, I thought this might be a five-star film. The opening acts are electric (sharp, funny, deeply human) capturing the restless energy of youth, identity, and the agonising freedom of having too many choices. Joachim Trier’s romantic dramedy isn’t just a coming-of-age story for your twenties; it’s a portrait of someone trying to figure out who they are in a world that keeps demanding answers before you’re ready to give them. And Renate Reinsve, in a star-making turn, is really good as Julie. Intelligent, impulsive, contradictory, and achingly real. But the film truly catches fire whenever Anders Danielsen Lie appears. As Aksel, the older cartoonist who becomes Julie’s lover, he brings a quiet intensity, warmth, and melancholy that elevates every scene he’s in. Their relationship is the emotional core of the film, tender, complicated, and grounded in real emotional stakes. The dinner-table argument, the quiet moments of intimacy, the devastating aftermath of their breakup, Danielsen Lie carries them with a rare blend of vulnerability and dignity. He’s not just good, he’s extraordinary, and easily the film’s most resonant presence. Even when the narrative begins to meander (particularly in the third act, where Julie drifts through new encounters and existential musings with less focus) the film never loses its visual and sonic beauty. The cinematography is alive with colour and spontaneity, from the time-freeze sequence through Oslo to the soft, natural lighting of private moments. And the soundtrack is a perfect companion, blending melancholy electronica and indie pop into a soundscape that feels like memory in motion. It doesn’t quite sustain the brilliance of its beginning, and the final stretch lacks the same narrative drive. But as a whole, The Worst Person in the World is a triumph, a modern, deeply felt exploration of love, ambition, and the search for self. Not flawless, but unforgettable. And Anders Danielsen Lie is an absolute master.
Rating: ★★★★ | Year: 2021 | Watched: 2025-08-07
Where to watch (UK)
Stream: MUBI · MUBI Amazon Channel · Channel 4 Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Physical: Amazon UK
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