The Worst Man in the World

Julie (Renate Reinsve) wants more from life! Yes, she loves her boyfriend, comic artist Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie), but she is not really happy with him. She realizes this when she meets the charming Eivind (Herbert Nordrum) at a wedding party and has an unforgettable time with him. For Julie it is clear: she must leave the safe net of her relationship and get involved in something new and adventurous. But quickly she questions everything again: was the separation from Aksel right and is Eivind really someone with whom she wants to spend her long-term future?

"The Worst Man in the World" by Norwegian director Joachim Trier takes an entertaining as well as disarmingly honest look at the turbulent emotional lives of people in their thirties. The difficult threshold between a casual life full of fun and light-heartedness and the moment when responsibility for the future has to be taken on can sometimes lead to emotional turmoil and confusion. The fact that the film succeeds so well in transporting this attitude towards life onto the screen is mainly thanks to the performance of leading actress Renate Reinsve.

Reinsve manages to make Julie remain likeable even when she does, and you enjoy watching her go on, even when her decisions don't necessarily cast the character in a positive light. You don't resent her for that, because her fears and wrong decisions are always absolutely human and somehow understandable. Admittedly, some twists do seem a bit contrived. But overall, the film offers many scenes in which you can definitely recognize yourself, your own dreams and worries about the future.

The production is kept pleasantly light on its feet overall, despite some heavy moments. Yes, everything here is truly not all sunshine. Nevertheless, "The Worst Man in the World" offers, on balance, very entertaining feel-good cinema that seems to have been taken directly from life. Once again, masterful cinema from the far north that can be warmly recommended to lovers of arthouse comedies. Absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp