'The Worst Person in the World (2021)' is a deeply moving experience. It resonates with me in a way that very few films do. I feel it. It isn't just entertainment, it's something more. Exactly what that is, I can't quite say. Through a seemingly simple story of one woman's life, the picture works its way into your mind, your heart, your soul itself and provokes powerful emotions that you didn't even know movies could provoke; not just sadness or joy or excitement or longing (all of which it provokes in droves), but the kind of emotions that can't be put into words, the kind that weigh on your consciousness and shape your relationship with yourself and the world around you. It's difficult to describe, really, and I'm sure I'm probably slipping into hyperbole. I've lost any sense of objectivity (what little I usually have, at any rate) when it comes to discussing this picture, because its ultimate impact is one that I just can't shake and I'm not sure I ever want to. It's a profoundly affecting affair, one that overcomes any of its initial slowness or slice-of-life limitations, thanks primarily to its uncompromisingly complex nature. It's one of the most honest pieces of fiction I've ever seen, crafting characters who seem like they could walk off the screen and representing reality - or, at least, our lived experience of it - in a way that most kitchen-sink dramas could only dream of doing. It presents a plethora of powerful and often poignant ideas that keenly represent the human condition, all while remembering that its protagonist is the one driving the action and that it owes her a fully-formed narrative that entertains as much as it stirs. Its infrequent formalistic touches are absolutely delightful, but it's the rock-solid 'regular' stuff that matters the most. These moments are told not with style, but with substance; the actors often tell entire libraries worth of stories with their eyes alone. Indeed, this is some of the best acting I've seen in a long time, capable of conveying thought and emotion without so much as a single word. It's often all in the eyes; you could get lost in the pupils of its two leads. The chapter-based structure lends vitality to a plot that may otherwise have felt a little aimless, and the writing is simply divine. The feature just nails everything it sets out to achieve. The more I think about it, the more I like it. It's the sort of thing that proves ratings are insignificant. How can you assign stars to something like this? I can't put my feelings into words, let alone stars. I can't quantify it by the same metrics I use for other films. Even if it isn't as entertaining as the ones I enjoy the most, it's almost certainly much more powerful; very few of them make me feel the way this one does. Maybe another viewing is necessary to determine the picture's true score. Then again, maybe this right here - what I'm feeling right now - is more than enough. It isn't the sort of thing I experience very often; as such, it's a bit hard to process. What else can I say? This is honestly the kind of film that I could see changing your life in one way or another, however small and seemingly insignificant. As I mentioned earlier, it's a deeply moving experience.

The Worst Person In The World

This movie portrayed a flaky millennial women, it was as if the script writer played with the key identifiers of this generation both positive and negative. The movie touched on the positives, albeit briefly, namely that of a dissatisfaction with the world around them and a naked ambition to achieve their goals, however Julie threw the towel in as soon as the going got tough. Flitting from doctor training, mental health, photography and ending up in a bookstore. The movie then cleverly, and without any apparent judgement (this was left to the viewer) showed all the millennials negative traits, namely lazy, narcissistic and spoilt, the so called me-me-me generation, and believe me this character had it In spades!

The movie had a light touch with no real overarching moralistic themes, we were merely observing this character as she progressed through her life. The acting was crisp from Renate Reinsve and she was never out of frame, I was convinced.

In truth Julie was a most unattractive, self absorbed, self serving person and as the movie progressed you really didn't like her, by the end she hadn't really changed much, no revelatory epiphany here in my view, however it could be equally argued that embracing a single life and actually sticking at a photographic career may show some promise of maturity for the future. I found the end overly contrived and perfunctory. I think the editing left in too much of "ill" Aksel that added little to the story.

I'm giving this a firm 6 outta 10, for holding my attention, recognising it is always difficult to judge the nuances of a subtitled movie.

Certain films are very difficult to review. One such type, is a very well made film in which you absolutely hate the protagonist- and that dislike may or may not be what you are meant to feel in the directors eyes. "The Worst Person In the World" is exactly that kind of experience for me. I was not reminded of "Annie Hall", as were many, but rather imagine John Schlesinger's "Darling" if Diana Scott had no ambition or even, perhaps, a if Lewis Gilbert's "Alfie" with no balls (to at least own his bad behavior in the end).

Julie (as in Julie Christie?) is an unrepentant narcissist who may seem to some to be wandering aimlessly through her late twenties/early thirties. She lives by the seat of her pants- first jumping from major to major in college and then from man to man. The film settles on two relationships in particular to follow. But Julie is not totally aimless, she makes choices based on her own level of priority. When she feels insecure in some way- she moves on. Not cutting it in Med school? Try Psychology. Boyfriend's getting so famous that no one notices you? Flee the party and crash a wedding in which you pretend to be someone important (a Doctor) so you can lecture others on child rearing.

I wish I could say that as she gets older she gains insight- unfortunately, after leaving the "famous" boyfriend for the "barista" one she finds herself pregnant. Upon hearing that Aksel, the famous on, is dying of an incurable disease she feels she must go to him. She must go to him-while he is near death and ask him to help her with HER problem. Never mind he is pain, never mind he wanted desperately to have a baby with her, it's all about her problem. I thought it was one of the cruelest scenes I'd ever seen- but Renate Reinsve plays it like an innocent babe. Her great performance is something to behold- she's so good that many viewers seem to think she's a good person.

The movie cuts her a major break by giving her a miscarriage- where we all knew what the fate of that baby was going to be. When Aksel tells her she would be a "great mother" I almost choked. Just because someone is dying doesn't necessarily give them any special knowledge of the truth-perhaps he loved her, so it's possible he believed this- but he was also pretty smart.

This, therefore is my dilemma . If the film is, indeed, about a totally self absorbed woman who's life is skipping past her while she remains in a perpetual adolescence- then I say add two stars to make it an eight out of ten. Maybe it's a generational thing. Young people seem to find this funny- I'm not exactly sure what was funny. They also see her as "loving"-perhaps that's what passes for love these days. I just thought the title was meant sarcastically- but ,at least when I was 30 ,she would've been a contender.