Chicago International Film Festival 2021

The Worst Person in the World is a coming-of-age film for people in their late 20s and I can’t tell you how relieving that is to hear. We get so many films in the sub-genre for teens and young adults, and rightfully so, but there’s a constant and incessant need for young adults to have a job, financial stability, and a family right out the gate of college and the pressure is always at a full time high. This film beautifully understands this and tackles the concept head on with brutal reality and tender care, covering concepts as age-gaps, gender-stereotypes, and an ever constant changing head-space of a young person finding themselves.

Unfortunately, this is my first Joachim Trier film and I’m gonna change that as soon as possible, especially because this is the final film in a film trilogy from him (whether they all connect or not, I don’t know, but if they do, this film sat on its own perfectly). Conceptually, it feels like the big picture being fully realized. A beautiful meditation on self-love and self-discovery. The direction is wholly unique and charismatic, the writing is top notch and hugely relatable and fascinating, and the performances are among the best of the year; Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie are just stunning, especially Reinsve who captures the experience of a young adult in a constant scramble for answers with flying colors.

I really REALLY resonated with this and, even though it’s paced wonderfully and not a single minute is wasted on character or plot growth, I could’ve watched an extra hour. It’s beautiful, difficult, and striking and melds two genres that could be trapped in their genre cliches (coming-of-age and romantic drama) and flip them on their head and analyze them fully. God it’s good.