Hello again! Welcome back to another installment of my Sunday Scaries Watchlist. For this week’s film, I decided to pick something that might hit you where it hurts (your head) or make you think (oh hey, that also involves your head). This Sunday’s film pick might make you cry, laugh, confuse you, or change your perspective on how you live your life. I am a firm believer in fiction that draws from our own experiences (or how we remember a situation), which then reflects our realities to others. 

The Worst Person in the World is a 2021 Norwegian film by award-winning Danish-Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier. In making this film, Trier commented that he wanted to make a film about love and its messiness. The Worst Person in the World chronicles four years in the life of Julie (played by the amazing Renate Reinsve), a 29-year-old woman living in Oslo, Norway, who seems to be figuring out her place in the world. Broken into twelve chapters and including a prologue and epilogue, the viewer watches Julie transform as a person through the years.

At the beginning of the film, we learn that Julie is pursuing a medical degree, not because she is completely interested in the subject matter, but because she once felt challenged by the subject matter. When she finds herself feeling indifferent about the subject and realizes she prefers the soul of a person, rather than the physical, she decides to switch majors to psychology. We then learn that she is interested in pursuing a photography career. 

It is through these career changes and the way she dresses that we learn about Julie’s indecisiveness from the get-go. Not that it is a problem for one’s personal style to change as they grow, but keep in mind, dear reader: Julie is a woman in her late 20s who has yet to solidify a career path and seems to be deviating from motherhood (which, in some instances, is a big no-no*). Julie is aware of her choices, as are the other characters she interacts with and has intimate relationships with: Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie), a famed comic book artist whom she can talk easily to, and Eivind (Herbert Nordrum), a front-of-house worker at a coffee shop that she meets at a party she crashes.

With Aksel, a man who is more than ten years her senior, Julie learns how to make a relationship work. However, inevitably, their age difference and the places they are in their lives complicate things. Although Julie still loves him, she also claims that she doesn’t: “Yes, I do love you, but I also don’t.” A world-shattering statement. She follows this up by claiming as though she is a passenger in her life and needs something to change to feel like herself again. She leaves and gets with Eivind, a man whom she meets at a wedding reception she crashed. 

It is with Eivind that Julie has the most fun. Not only are Julie and Eivind closer in age, but they also seem to be in closer stages of their lives in comparison to Aksel. Eivind is a barista and enjoys his job. He is also very aware of the environment and believes in sustainability. We learn this through a chapter in the film dedicated to his past relationship and how it influenced his outlook on life. 

However, at some point, our protagonist feels out of place in her relationship. It has been a while since she last contacted Aksel, but seeing him on a talk show leaves her stunned. In her relationship with Eivind, she finds herself unsatisfied and wanting more, to the point where she belittles him. This makes it seem as if Julie knows everything, but at the same time, she doesn’t. So it is fitting that she might feel like the worst person in the world.

The Worst Person in the World is one of my favorite movies that has come out in the last few years. This film is about making mistakes and figuring out where you’re supposed to be going in life. It’s messy, and sometimes, most even, you might fail. You might not stick to a traditional path you once thought you would, and you might not be with the person you thought you would be. And you won’t always be able to control the things you thought you could. Sometimes the best thing to do is to go with the flow and see where life takes you. If there is even a small change that you can make to help you find happiness, you should go for it. You might still feel like the worst person in the world (especially if you are a people pleaser and don’t want to hurt other people’s feelings), but at least you might be able to find yourself. 

*I strongly disagree with this statement, but in some cases, although our generation is more open to accepting the way an individual decides to live their life, it does not go unnoticed that it seems to still be a problem to others. 

This film is currently streaming on Hulu.