--- title: "The Worst Person in the World" year: 2021 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-worst-person-in-the-world" fi1m_id: "the-worst-person-in-the-world" imdb_id: "tt10370710" tmdb_id: 660120 wikidata_id: "Q107089587" fi1m_score: 84 critics_score: 81 critics_reviews: 26 published: "2026-09-30T20:21:57.651620+00:00" updated: "2026-09-30T20:22:03.632281+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Worst Person in the World (2021) Directed by Joachim Trier · 2h 08m · MPA R · Drama, Romance, Comedy ## Identity The Worst Person in the World - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-worst-person-in-the-world - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-worst-person-in-the-world - **IMDb ID:** tt10370710 - **TMDB ID:** 660120 - **Wikidata ID:** Q107089587 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10370710/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/660120, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107089587 **Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 81 from 26 reviews *In a sentence:* She gatecrashes a wedding, flirts with a stranger until dawn, and calls it not cheating; the film very nearly agrees with her > Joachim Trier’s twelve-chapter portrait of a woman who cannot settle, in work or in love, is funny, quick and sadder than it first lets on. Renate Reinsve holds it together when the film’s own cleverness threatens not to. ## Synopsis Julie (Renate Reinsve) is nearly thirty and living in Oslo, and she has already abandoned medicine for psychology and psychology for photography. At a party she meets Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie), who is older than her and tells her they are at different stages of life; she moves in with him anyway. A weekend at a cabin with his friends and their small children raises the question of what she wants next, and she has no answer. Walking home alone from a launch for Aksel’s book, she slips into a stranger’s wedding party and spends the night talking to Eivind (Herbert Nordrum), who has a girlfriend, Sunniva (Maria Grazia Di Meo). They agree that nothing they do before dawn counts as cheating. ## Review Julie is nearly thirty, and the film gets through her twenties in a few minutes: medicine, then psychology, then photography, a new haircut and a new boyfriend with each, a narrator explaining her reasoning in the same even tone whether or not the reasoning is any good. Then she meets Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie), who is older and surer of himself, and the film slows down and gives her a prologue, twelve chapters and an epilogue in which to work out what she wants. Joachim Trier, writing again with Eskil Vogt, has set two earlier films in this city, both with Danielsen Lie in them, and this is the warmest of the three by some distance. It is also the one fondest of its own devices. The verdict first, though: it is a good film, we recommend it, and the person who makes it good is Renate Reinsve. She plays Julie as someone always slightly ahead of the conversation she is in and slightly behind her own life. Watch her at the cabin weekend, among Aksel’s friends and their toddlers, deciding halfway through a sentence that she is bored of the woman she can hear talking. Watch her at the wedding party she walks into uninvited, laying out for Eivind (Herbert Nordrum) the rules of the game they are about to play, and enjoying the rules more than the game. Reinsve does not ask us to forgive Julie and does not apologise for her. The title is a joke Julie would make about herself, and Reinsve plays it as a joke with something underneath. Kasper Andersen shoots Oslo in long, pale summer evenings, the kind of light in which nobody wants to go home, and he keeps the camera close enough to Reinsve’s face that we can watch her change her mind. Roger Rosenberg gives Aksel a flat with books to the ceiling and a drawing board by the window, the home of a man whose life is furnished, and gives Eivind almost nothing, which is the point. Olivier Bugge Coutté cuts the early chapters fast, on the beat of the narration, and then lets scenes run once Julie has somewhere to stay. The second half takes a turn we will not describe. What we can say is that Danielsen Lie plays a man who is sure of his opinions and is starting to suspect that certainty was not the achievement he took it for. The late conversations between Aksel and Julie moved us more than anything else in the film, and more than we expected from a film this pleased with its own jokes. They are shot plainly, two people sitting and talking about what they were to each other, and Bugge Coutté lets them run without cutting for reaction. Reinsve listens in these scenes as well as she talks, which is rarer than it sounds. Not all of it works. There is a chapter in which Julie takes mushrooms and the film takes them with her, and what follows is the one stretch where Trier’s imagination and Julie’s part company: rubbery bodies, an appearance by her father Per Harald (Vidar Sandem), jokes landing at half strength. It is the only sequence that feels made to be described afterwards. The chapter title cards, wry at first, become a tic by the ninth. And the film is softer on Julie than its title pretends. Her carelessness costs other people more than it costs her, and Trier is more interested in how she feels about that than in how they do. Sunniva (Maria Grazia Di Meo), Eivind’s girlfriend, gets one funny paragraph of narration about her yoga and her recycling and is then put away. The epilogue is tidier than the twelve chapters that earned it. Most critics have been warmer than we are, and a few have found the whole thing cold, a romance about someone who cannot commit, made by someone who will not commit to a view of her. We understand the complaint without sharing it. Trier is counting what Julie’s indecision costs, in Ola Fløttum’s spare piano and in Andersen’s light going from summer to something greyer, and he lets her notice the bill late, which is when most of us do. It is a 15 certificate and 128 minutes, and the minutes go quickly. See it with someone you have been with long enough to argue about it afterwards. You will, and Julie will come out of the argument about as well as she comes out of the film. *Fi1m score 84, published 30 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews are warm and broadly agreed. Most critics find Joachim Trier’s film funny, tender and wistful, and nearly all of them put Renate Reinsve at the centre of their praise, calling her performance the reason Julie’s mistakes never turn the audience against her. Anders Danielsen Lie’s Aksel draws the next largest share of attention, several critics naming his later scenes as the film’s most moving. The sequence in which time stops as Julie runs through Oslo is picked out more than once. The reservations are about the final stretch. Several critics, IndieWire and Deadline among them, feel the last act turns tidier and more conventional than the fragmented storytelling before it. Sight and Sound questions how indulgent the film is towards Julie. The one real dissent comes from The i Paper, which finds the film cold and its romanticising of indecision tired, while still admiring Reinsve. The spread is otherwise narrow. ## Straight answers **Is The Worst Person in the World worth watching?** *The Worst Person in the World* is worth watching for anyone who likes a quick, funny, quietly sad romance about a woman who cannot settle, and we scored it 84. Renate Reinsve is the reason to see it; the film around her is sometimes too pleased with its own devices, and a mushroom-trip chapter falls flat. See it with a partner you can argue with afterwards. **How long is The Worst Person in the World, and what is it rated?** *The Worst Person in the World* runs 2h 08m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a drama and romance film. **Where can I watch The Worst Person in the World in the US?** *The Worst Person in the World* is streaming on Tubi in the US, and it is also available to rent from Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is The Worst Person in the World, and is it suitable for children?** *The Worst Person in the World* carries a UK 15 certificate and is not violent or frightening, but it is an adult film about infidelity, sex and drug-taking, and it is not for children. There is a chapter in which Julie takes mushrooms and the film shows her hallucinations. Older teenagers will be fine; younger ones will be bored rather than upset. **How does The Worst Person in the World compare to Frances Ha?** *The Worst Person in the World* is the fuller and sadder of the two, and [*Frances Ha*](https://film.one/film/frances-ha) the lighter and more forgiving. Both follow a restless woman through a city and both go easier on their heroine than they should. Choose *Frances Ha* if you want a comedy about friendship; choose Trier's film if you want love affairs, turning thirty and a second half that hurts. **What should I watch after The Worst Person in the World?** After *The Worst Person in the World*, try [*Frances Ha*](https://film.one/film/frances-ha) (2012, Fi1m 82): Another woman running through a city because standing still is unbearable. Then [*Before Sunset*](https://film.one/film/before-sunset) (2004, Fi1m 91): Two people talking in real time about the life they did not have together; and [*The Souvenir*](https://film.one/film/the-souvenir) (2019, Fi1m 84): A young woman, an older man and the slow discovery of what she has agreed to. ### Reviews we read (26) - **Radio Times**, Max Copeman (5/5): Copeman finds the film wistful, warm and deeply affecting. He singles out Renate Reinsve’s charismatic, relatable performance as the reason Julie’s mistakes never make her seem villainous. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-yd9u1d/the-worst-person-in-the-world/) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (5/5): Bradshaw calls the film a tender, funny and beguiling romantic coming-of-age story, an instant classic. He especially praises Renate Reinsve’s sensitive, sympathetic performance and says it makes her a star. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jul/08/the-worst-person-in-the-world-review-cannes-2021) - **Empire**, Ella Kemp (95/100, inferred): Kemp calls the film a truthful, tender masterpiece and finds its portrayal of love and growing up deeply affecting. She especially praises Renate Reinsve’s tour-de-force performance and the film’s naturalistic, wise script. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-worst-person-in-the-world/) - **Little White Lies**, Hannah Strong (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a sweet, funny, keenly observed character study and suggests it could become a future classic. She particularly praises the central trio’s chemistry and the film’s sharp, truthful dialogue. [Read](https://lwlies.com/festivals/the-worst-person-in-the-world-cannes-film-festival-review) - **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (90/100, inferred): Chang finds the film charming, wistful and tender, praising its empathetic portrayal of Julie’s changing sense of self. He singles out Renate Reinsve’s thrilling, quicksilver performance as the film’s center of gravity. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-02-03/worst-person-in-the-world-review-joachim-trier) - **Slant Magazine**, Pat Brown (3.5/4): The critic sees the film as a lively, affecting restoration of the romantic comedy that makes familiar themes feel significant again. Renate Reinsve’s nuanced performance is singled out for giving Julie a sense of depth and subjectivity. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-worst-person-in-the-world-review-joachim-trier/) - **Variety**, Guy Lodge (Critics Pick): Lodge calls the film a lovely, wise paean to unrest and indecision. He especially praises Renate Reinsve’s fluid performance and the fragile chemistry she shares with Anders Danielsen Lie. [Read](https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/the-worst-person-in-the-world-review-1235014608/) - **Vulture**, Angelica Jade Bastién (85/100, inferred): Bastién finds the film piercingly observant, openhearted, and emotionally rich. She especially praises Renate Reinsve’s layered performance and Anders Danielsen Lie’s moving portrayal of Aksel. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/the-worst-person-in-the-world-movie-review.html) - **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (B+): Dowd finds the film an exciting, stylish portrait of the confusion and choices of adulthood. He praises Renate Reinsve’s performance and the tender, well-written romantic scenes, while noting that one drug-trip sequence misses the mark. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-worst-person-in-the-world-movie-review-joachim-trie-1848477485) - **Evening Standard**, Charlotte O'Sullivan (4/5): O'Sullivan finds the film occasionally aggravating but ultimately profound and magical. She especially praises Renate Reinsve's expressive performance and the film's playful, earthy humor. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-worst-person-in-the-world-movie-review-renate-reinsve-b990006.html) - **Time Out**, Dave Calhoun (4/5): The critic presents the film as a lively, energetic portrait of a woman searching for meaning. They single out Renate Reinsve as a revelation. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-worst-person-in-the-world-2021) - **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (B): Ehrlich finds the film vibrant and engaging, though its final act feels less compelling and overly conclusive. He especially praises Renate Reinsve’s nuanced performance and the sequence where time stops as Julie runs through Oslo. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-worst-person-in-the-world-review-joachim-trier-1234649577/) - **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (75/100, inferred): Lane finds the film beautiful, funny, and moving, though sometimes annoying, with sadness that lingers after the story ends. He especially praises its formal inventiveness in mirroring Julie’s unsettled search for freedom and identity. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/02/14/humor-beauty-and-astounding-sadness-in-the-worst-person-in-the-world) - **Screen Daily**, Wendy Ide (70/100, inferred): Ide presents Trier’s film as a bold Palme d’Or contender. The standfirst singles out his willingness to throw caution to the wind and the film’s place as the final part of his Oslo trilogy. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-worst-person-in-the-world-cannes-review/5161382.article) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Jordan Mintzer (70/100, inferred): Mintzer finds the film a compelling, melancholy return to form, though its stylistic flourishes can feel showy. He particularly praises the emotionally powerful reconciliation between Julie and Aksel, carried by Anders Danielsen Lie’s performance. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-worst-person-in-the-world-review-cannes-2021-1234979400/) - **Sight and Sound** (65/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a supple, fleeting delight, while questioning its indulgence toward Julie and its narrow perspective. Reinsve’s finely observed, effervescent performance is singled out for praise. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/worst-person-world-captures-one-womans-late-twenties-swirl-sunsets-cigarettes-sunrises) - **The i Paper**, Christina Newland (35/100, inferred): Newland finds the film’s portrait of modern love and alienation ultimately cold and its romanticisation of uncertainty tired. She praises Renate Reinsve’s radiant, physically expressive performance as Julie. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/the-worst-person-in-the-world-review-renate-reinsve-joachim-trier-oscars-2022-1538424) - **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (A+): Bonaime calls the film a near-perfect, moving coming-of-age story and a phenomenal statement on life and love. He especially praises Renate Reinsve’s performance and Trier’s inventive way of depicting Julie’s inner life. [Read](https://collider.com/worst-person-in-the-world-joachim-trier-renate-reinsve/) - **The Skinny**, Philip Concannon (★★★★★): The review finds the film dynamic, funny and ultimately empathetic, with a wistful turn in its second half. It especially praises Anders Danielsen Lie’s moving performance as Aksel. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-worst-person-in-the-world) - **/Film**, Hoai-Tran Bui (8.5/10): The critic finds the film a warm, melancholic anti-romantic comedy, though its fragmented portrait can feel emotionally distant. She especially praises Renate Reinsve’s performance and Anders Danielsen Lie’s shattering turn. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/756269/the-worst-person-in-the-world-review-a-wistful-anti-romantic-comedy/) - **HeyUGuys**, Jo-Ann Titmarsh (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the film warm, intelligent, and consistently engaging, with a strong lead performance. She especially praises Renate Reinsve’s portrayal of Julie and highlights the film’s inventive visual sequences. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-worst-person-in-the-world-review/) - **Paste**, Brianna Zigler (8.0/10): Zigler finds the film invigorating and exceedingly kind, though its late turn feels too tidy for its fragmented storytelling. She especially praises Renate Reinsve’s gentle, sharp performance as Julie. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-worst-person-in-the-world-review) - **The Wrap** (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the film charming, appealing, and full of unfolding delights. They especially praise Renate Reinsve’s standout performance and the film’s lively depiction of Oslo. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/worst-person-in-the-world-film-review-joachim-trier/) - **Eye for Film**, Anne-Katrin Titze (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the film beautifully constructed, balancing identity-seeking with the sense that each life is one link in a longer chain. She singles out its lingering melancholy beneath the funny, fast-paced moments of everyday chaos. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-worst-person-in-the-world-2021-film-review-by-anne-katrin-titze) - **Deadline**, Todd McCarthy (70/100, inferred): McCarthy finds the film sharp and poignant, though it loses some edge and becomes more conventional in its latter stretch. He praises Renate Reinsve’s vibrant performance and the inventive, intimate scenes that capture life’s fleeting moments. [Read](https://deadline.com/2021/07/cannes-film-review-joachim-triers-the-worst-person-in-the-world-1234789441/) - **The Playlist** (64/100, inferred): The page is blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No praise or complaint can be verified from the available text. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/the-worst-person-in-the-world-joachim-trier-cannes-review-20210709/) ## Details - **Director:** Joachim Trier - **Director:** Joachim Trier - **Writer:** Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier - **Cinematography:** Kasper Andersen - **Editor:** Olivier Bugge Coutté - **Music:** Ola Fløttum - **Production design:** Roger Rosenberg - **Producer:** Andrea Berentsen Ottmar, Thomas Robsahm - **Cast:** Renate Reinsve as Julie; Anders Danielsen Lie as Aksel; Herbert Nordrum as Eivind; Hans Olav Brenner as Ole Magnus; Helene Bjørneby as Karianne; Vidar Sandem as Per Harald; Maria Grazia Di Meo as Sunniva; Lasse Gretland as Kristoffer - **Runtime:** 2h 08m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 11 February 2022 - **Genres:** Drama, Romance, Comedy - **Budget:** $5 million - **Box office:** $13 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpkQgk1Fi1Q ## Where to watch in the US - Tubi: free, hd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-30.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, IE, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PT, SE, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Amanda Award for Best Nordic Feature Film 2022: Amanda Award for Best Nordic Feature Film (won) - International Submission to the Academy Awards 2022: International Submission to the Academy Awards (nominated) - Lumière Award for Best International Co-Production 2022: Lumière Award for Best International Co-Production (won) - The Amanda Public Choice Award 2022: The Amanda Public Choice Award (won) - European Film Award for Best Actress 2021: European Film Award for Best Actress (nominated) - European Film Award for Best Screenwriter 2021: European Film Award for Best Screenwriter (nominated) ## If you liked this - *Reprise* (2006): Trier’s first Oslo film, two young writers, the same restlessness with less kindness - *Frances Ha* (2012), Fi1m 82: Another woman running through a city because standing still is unbearable — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/frances-ha.md) - *Before Sunset* (2004), Fi1m 91: Two people talking in real time about the life they did not have together — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/before-sunset.md) - *The Souvenir* (2019), Fi1m 84: A young woman, an older man and the slow discovery of what she has agreed to — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-souvenir.md) - *Toni Erdmann* (2016), Fi1m 86: German, longer, sillier and just as sharp about a daughter’s unfinished life — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/toni-erdmann.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-worst-person-in-the-world