Joachim Trier's The Worst Person in the World

Every week, I ask the tnmn community for film recommendations. Each week, I’ll feature some favorites for the community to vote on.

Last week’s category was coming of age films. See the results here in an all-new format on the tnmn website. If you want to see the other categories I’ve published so far, visit the guides hub page, which will house every category we create together.

This week’s category is breakthrough films. That is, movies that put an actor on the map. Vote on your favorite featured submissions below:

That is, films that make you cry. Reply to this email with your recommendation and why we should watch it. I’ll feature you in next week’s newsletter.

Note: If the movie doesn't comply with the category, I'll take up residence in your state. I'll live there long enough to run for office. After I start my first term, I’ll convince the state legislature to outlaw spray-on sunscreen throughout the whole state. Because health risks or whatever. Who cares. You’ll be forced to use regular lotion for the remainder of your days. Like a wild animal. So, ya know. Follow the category.

A spoiler-free description of the movie.

An indecisive young woman navigates her tumultuous love life.

If you like these things, then you’ll like the film.

▶ Woody Allen. Not the problematic stuff — just his movies. It’s safe to say this one takes cues from Annie Hall and a few others.

▶ Breakups. This film has one of the most raw, emotional, steamy breakup scenes of any I can remember.

▶ Eclectic soundtracks. Billie Holiday. Christopher Cross. Amerie. Glamour Hammer. Maurice Ravel. How are they on the same LP, and why in the world does it feel so right?

What I liked about it.

Right now, as I write this recommendation, I’m listening to the beautiful mess of a soundtrack that served as a compelling modifier to the drama throughout Joachim Trier's The Worst Person in the World.

If I could, I'd be writing this while singing, dancing, and cathartically chopping vegetables in my kitchen. That’s the kind of soundtrack I’m talking about and I suspect this is the closest I’ll ever get to my Eat Pray Love moment.

The Worst Person in the World is an unabashedly naked tale about the untidiness and untimeliness of life. In a way, the eclectic, jumpy soundtrack itself embodies the themes at play in the film.

As do the aesthetics, by the way. The vistas captured in this film, often overlooking the city of Oslo, are positively stunning. And they often feel representative of the lead character’s journey. The opening shot, in particular, is iconic in my humble opinion.

On to the writing. Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt’s script is broken up into twelve chapters along with a prologue and an epilogue. Some of the chapters are only a few minutes long. Others stretch beyond twenty minutes.

This isn't a gimmick — it's purpose-built for the story being told. Many films must operate with a certain order about them. A requirement to transition from one event to the next. A compulsion to resolve events before moving forward.

Here, the story isn’t beholden to resolutions and transitions and strict order. One minute, you’re with Julie and her boyfriend at a cocktail party. The next, you’re with her several years before she’s even met him. And the highly variable chapter durations allow the story to focus on life’s smaller moments that other films simply don’t give the time of day.

This structure is a worthy vehicle for Renate Reinsve’s pitch-perfect performance as Julie, the lead character in the film. Most notably, Reinsve is masterful in her use of body language and non-verbals to showcase the ways in which Julie has changed, grown, or regressed over the course of her story.

You’d be forgiven for thinking you’re watching a Woody Allen movie through the first few chapters — not that this is a problem. Before you know it, though, the film feels like something else entirely.

I propose that this is sort of the point. Sometimes life feels like a Woody Allen film. Other times, it's a hallucinogenic trip, pure melancholia, or something entirely unprecedented.

This is a film about that messiness, unpredictability. The inconvenient timing. The various roles we end up playing in relationships, sometimes against our better judgement. And it’s hard to imagine a more poised take on the subject than what is offered up by The Worst Person in the World.

Enjoy the film.

A fact or two about the production that makes you say “oh, neat”.

▶ The scene where Julie stops time was made without CGI — extras were asked to stand in place. Several random onlookers noticed the stunt and spontaneously joined the production. In Trier’s words: “We realized along the way that some other people were looking at us from their windows and they’d run down and stand still. People were joining in!”

▶ Renate Reinsve was keen on her body language representing Julie’s state of mind throughout her performance. This was challenging, since the production was shot out of order. In her words: “Julie goes through a journey of being very restless, not being able to decide on anything, not knowing what to do in life or who to be with, and not being able to accept herself. Since we didn’t film chronologically, I had to be very specific on where she was, in her thoughts and her emotions and her body.”

One great line of dialogue from the film.