In ‘The Worst Person in the World,’ American Singer-Songwriters Help Tell a Norwegian Love Story
variety.comJonathan Cohen On paper, the prominent use of sensitive American singer-songwriter music from the 1970s and ‘80s in a modern Norwegian romantic comedy might seem rather incongruous, if not downright anachronistic.
But five decades on from some of their biggest successes, Art Garfunkel, Todd Rundgren, Harry Nilsson and Christopher Cross are back on the big screen helping soundtrack Danish/Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s acclaimed “The Worst Person in the World,” which is nominated for best original screenplay and best international feature film at the upcoming Academy Awards.Co-written by Trier and longtime collaborator Eskil Vogt, “Worst Person” has already won best foreign language film from the New York Film Critics Circle and garnered Renate Reinsve the best actress award at Cannes.
The movie follows Reinsve’s Julie as she navigates the restless transition from her 20s into her 30s, spanning two long-term relationships that conjure tough existential questions about love, fidelity, mortality and the passage of time.
Throughout, the music is a crucial link in the narrative of Julie’s often rudderless existence, as she crashes a wedding, trips on mushrooms, bides her time working in a bookstore and begins creating her own art. “I wanted this sort of bittersweet feeling — melancholic, but joyful,” Trier tells Variety when asked why these retro sounds worked so well in helping tell the film’s story. “There’s something about that kind of music from the ‘70s that felt soft and forgiving.
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