HCA Gradebook: “The Worst Person in the World”

Film: The Worst Person in the World (2021)
Plot: The chronicles of four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.
Cast: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Maria Grazia Di Meo, and Hans Olav Brenner
Director: Joachim Trier
Release Date: February 4, 2022
Studio: Neon
HCA Overall Grade: A

Dan Murrell says, “A standout film that deserves to be a frontrunner for Best International Film at the Oscars. Renate Reinsve gives an outstanding lead performance in a story about the complications of love, life, and personal shortcomings.”

Grade A-

Chris James says, “Joaquin Trier’s twelve chapter masterpiece makes the transition from the 20s to 30s feel grand. Even the smallest of anecdotes can communicate magnitudes about the characters within them. Renate Reinsve gives an incredible performance as our lead, Julie. She perfectly dramatizes indecision, constantly looking for the grass to be greener on the other side. The object of her waffling, Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie), is similarly textured. Each new chapter reveals new sides of its incredible characters.” 

Grade A+

Ema Sasic says, “The Worst Person in the World is one of those rare films that nails everything it’s going for and trying to say. You’ll be confused a lot in life; you’re not going to get things right every time, and some people will come and go, while others will stay with you forever. But what it wants you to keep in mind is that it’s OK not to have it all figured out, and we all need to be reminded of that. This movie will hit you emotionally in several different ways, and it’s led by amazing performances from Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie. If we lived in a fair world, they would be receiving awards love.” 

Grade A+

Mark Johnson says, “The Worst Person in the World was not at all what I was expecting, and for all the right reasons I loved that. Renate Reinsve stars as Julie, a young woman seeking true love. How she seeks love at the expense of others might be where we get the film’s title, but despite her unhinged ways, you can’t help but root for her. Part of that is in the magic of Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt’s script, which is fraught with serendipitous chance meetings and examinations of mortality. How that script is executed by the cast, most notably Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie, is what really makes the film a truly memorable and touching experience.” 

Grade A

Rosa Parra says, “A delightful depiction of learning, growing and maturing as a result of simply living life. It’s a refreshing entry into the rom-com genre that left me eager for more films like this one. It’s nonjudgmental, perfectly paced, and anchored by a superb leading performance from arénate Reinsve.”

Grade A+

Fiona Underhill says, “Anders Danielsen Lie is the standout in this examination of a modern European woman. Loved the theatrical touches and the sense of vibrant city life. Hope more people discover Truer’s other films now.”

Grade B

Sara Clements says, “Trier’s latest is a romantic comedy that sneaks up on you with a gut punch. A coming-of-age film for millennials that still have a lot of shit to figure out. Renate Reinsve is one of the year’s finest discoveries.”

Grade A

Aaron Neuwirth says, “The Worst Person in the World manages to deliver on being funny, romantic, observant about modern culture, and a capable way of supplying bursts of style in a grounded feature. Renate Reinsve is key to all of this, playing well with her character traits and finding the right chemistry from the two central men in her life.”

Grade A-

Tom O’Brien says, “Just when you might have given up on just what romantic comedies could be in 2022, Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World ably captures the zeitgeist in a bottle. Anyone who’s lived through their twenties can emphasize with Julie (Renate Reinsve) as she stumbles through her mess of a romantic life, making one wrong decision after another, until the point where she maybe…just maybe…can find some small bit of happiness. Trier’s direction approaches the genre with a fresh eye, and his script (with co-writer Eskil Vogt) is bursting with dialogue that sounds like the way real people talk. Bolstered by moving supporting work by Anders Danielsen Lie, The Worst Person in the World soars with an extraordinary central performance by Reinsve, whose Julie is at once thoroughly fallible while being utterly relatable. It’s a performance for the ages.”

Grade A

Tessa Smith says, “The Worst Person In The World is surprisingly quite relatable. It’s a dark comedy that explores human nature and the fact that anyone can be “the worst” when you look at a collection of their actions. Most viewers will be able to see themselves in this movie, making it a captivating watch from start to finish. A romantic comedy with a twist and a fantastic ending, The Worst Person In The World is one of the best films of the year so far.” 

Grade A-

David Bax says, “Reinsve’s ability to craft a seamless and recognizably human character out of these ambivalences and contradictions is why hers is one of the best film performances of the past year.” 

Grade A+

Erik Anderson says, “The Worst Person in the World is one of the best films of 2021.”

Grade A

Diego Andaluz says, “A deeply relatable meditation on the endless choices that come with being human, The Worst Person In The World touched me on a far deeper level than any film this year. Joachim Trier’s effervescent direction and bold screenplay capture snippets of this tumultuous stage of life through a hopeful lens, with Renate Reinsve’s star-making central performance serving as a brilliantly constructed vessel for the triumphs and pitfalls of the human experience.”

Grade A-

Gisela Savdie says, “An accurate portrait of the millennial generation. Very well acted. Smart and sophisticated script.”

Grade A

Josie Meléndez says, “The Worst Person in the World is a film that is difficult to put into words. Joachim Trier managed to create a film that is so introspective it manages to hit the nail on the head every time.”

Grade A