Sisters Nora and Agnes reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav, a once-renowned director who offers stage actress Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. When Nora turns it down, she soon discovers he has given her part to an eager young Hollywood star.
Rated 4.0 / 5 from 4 logs on Katalog
It's a wonderful movie with so many subtleties and character, really rich. Ultimately though, it didn't grasp me quite as much as I expected. Emotionally, it's hard to empathise ||with the absent father who is ultimately redeemed because his script slaps, and doesn't seem to matter that he's a neglectful alcoholic egomaniac.|| I suppose that's the morality behind it, is it worth abandoning those you proclaim to love in an arrogant pursuit of greatness? I think it's an excuse, and that greatness is possible without the personal and imposed sacrifices that leave permanent scars. I found Inga Lilleaas to be the standout, an amazing balancing act of the child who 'had it easier' but ultimately tread the thinnest of lines on all sides. Completely captivated by her fragility and bravery. Stellan Skarsgård phenomenal as he always is, made me not quite hate him, but not like him, either. Parents who monologue about their achievements, or lack thereof, or perceived slights — because life is all about them, of course — are all too familiar. He had redeeming behaviours, often towards strangers rather than those closest to him. Classic. So altogether it's a wonderful film, but by the end I found myself in only very slight catharsis, which surprised me.
Nice, but no catharsis. Beautifully layered, both visually and narratively, but not heavy. Like watercolour perhaps, but ones that are contained and not free-flowing. Strange. I have no reasonable complaints, it just didn’t move me too deeply. Emotionally I was there, but the only moment I felt something deep in my gut and audibly gasped was when they showed that millennial-gray house renovation. I didn’t enjoy The Worst Person in The World at all. I found all the characters too obnoxious to care about what was happening. Obviously, the characters don’t have to be likeable, but to me they’re unlikeable in ways that create this itch that lasts throughout the entire duration, never to be relieved. While this one wasn’t exactly the opposite of that either, it worked better for me. In terms of performances, Inga Lilleaas was the highlight for me. (Spoiler maybe: the ending reminded me a bit of that meme when grandma needs attention and she throws herself down the stairs)
Joachim Trier’s newest film didn’t have the fizz, romance, and life that I adored in The Worst Person in the World, but was a moving study of the complex dynamics of a family. Really well-made with great performances, but sometimes felt a bit diluted with too much happening all at once. I do hope Renate Reinsve gets more and more work.
