Content Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the movie The Worst Person in the World.
Director Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World gave fans some memorable lines from characters like Julie and Aksel. The rom-com is the third film in the director’s “Oslo trilogy” and seems to be made for older viewers who may be able to relate to Julie’s struggles as a woman in her late twenties to early forties (in the latter half of the movie).
The best quotes in the film often perfectly capture the characters’ personalities, with all of them coming from the two most prominent individuals, Julie and Aksel. They highlight the different points in Julie’s life and show her shifting perspectives on life, love, and everything in between.
Julie:
“I Feel Like A Spectator In My Own Life.”
Older viewers may recognize Julie’s feeling of being “a spectator in” her “own life,” which she says when she breaks up with Aksel. She is tired of “playing a ing role,” as Aksel’s successful career as a comic book artist often overshadows her more modest lifestyle.
Julie wants to get out of the relationship to explore her own identity outside of Aksel, as well as meet strangers like Eivind who could provide the spark she’s missing. Her life with Aksel doesn’t give her the happiness and excitement she craves anymore, which is more than enough reason for her to move on.
Aksel:
“I Reached A Point In Life When Suddenly… It Just Happened, When… I Began To Worship What Had Been, And Now I Have Nothing Else.”
One of the most painful conversations in the film happens when Julie visits Aksel in the hospital after learning of his terminal illness. When Julie points out how she envies Aksel for always having known and doing what he’s “supposed to do,” he points out that he’s “being retrospective” not because of nostalgia, but due to his “fear of death.”
Aksel has “nothing else” to look forward to because he doesn’t have long left and he’s struggling to accept his fate at this point. It’s a universal human experience that’s impossible to ignore, and for Aksel, it’s almost too difficult to process.
Narrator:
“She Said She Was Terrified Of Being Alone, Terrified Of Living Without Him, That When She Left, She’d Be Like Bambi On The Ice – And That Was Precisely Why She Had To Do It.”
It makes sense that Aksel is more in love with Julie than she is with him, as, unlike Aksel, Julie hasn’t fully realized her identity yet. It’s this uncertainty, the feeling that she’d be “like Bambi on the ice” without Aksel, that ultimately pushes Julie to leave him.
She wants to embrace the unknown and discover the different facets of her identity that she couldn’t explore with him in the picture. By being on her own, she’d be able to discover her own interests, likes, and dislikes, without them being influenced by his perspective.
Julie:
“I Wasted So Much Time Worrying About What Could Go Wrong, But What Did Go Wrong, Was Never The Things I Worried About.”
Julie eventually turns to Aksel when she has a major issue in her relationship with Eivind. She likely still re how they used to talk about having kids, and how she wasn't really ready back then. She is completely taken by surprise when she realizes she’s pregnant, as it’s not one of “the things” she “worried about” with Eivind.
Instead of being bitter or remorseful, Aksel uncharacteristically gives her genuinely helpful advice. He reminds her that “with a kind father” and with her as the mother, everything will turn out alright.
Aksel:
“I Don’t Want To Be A Memory For You, I Don’t Want To Be A Voice In Your Head, I Don’t Want To Live On Through My Art, I Want To Live In My Flat – I Want To Live In My Flat With You.”
Another scene that’s almost too painful to watch takes place in Julie’s car, where Aksel its that he’s “so tired of pretending everything is okay.” He continues and confesses that “it sucks being in so much pain.” He just wants the comfort of living in his flat with Julie, likely recalling better days when they were still together.
Aksel holds onto those precious memories with Julie because he sees their past relationship as the best he ever had in his life. Compared to his unfortunate situation in the present, it’s a much happier time he can escape to.
Julie:
“I Feel Like Never See Anything Through. I Go From One Thing To Another.”
Part of what makes Julie a relatable protagonist is her ission of her faults and flaws. Her raw honesty about what she thinks and feels is refreshing, even though it is sometimes hard for people like Aksel to hear.
When they talk about the possibility of having kids, Aksel is annoyed by Julie’s uncertainty about the subject. She reasons that she goes “from one thing to another,” implying that having children is such a permanent endeavor. It’s a completely valid reason and she shouldn’t be pressured into starting a family when she clearly isn’t ready.
Julie:
“Relaxing Is Your Specialty! You Don’t Mind Serving Coffee Till You’re 50, But I Want More!”
Julie is far from being a perfect character – whether she means to or not, she can be hurtful at times. This is highlighted in a scene with Eivind where during a heated argument, she essentially calls him useless and unmotivated, telling him that “relaxing” is his “specialty.”
At this point, it’s becoming obvious that the issue isn’t really who Julie is romantically involved with, but rather her unhappiness with who she is and her uncertainty about what she wants in her own life. It’s unfortunate that individuals like Aksel and Eivind are blamed when Julie sometimes projects this pain and anxiety on them.
Aksel:
“You Were The Most Important Relationship In My Life. You Don’t Have To Say Anything, I Know It’s Not The Same For You.”
A heartbreaking scene right before Aksel’s death takes place in his room in the hospital. While sitting on his bed, he its to Julie that she was “the most important relationship in” his life, quickly following it up by saying he knows it’s “not the same” for her. He even calls her the love of his life, which is far from what he is for her.
It can be argued that Aksel and Julie just met at the wrong time in their lives, but it may also be the case that they’re just not right for each other. Julie has clearly impacted Aksel’s life in a significant way, but he’s just a footnote in her unfinished story.
Julie:
“This Is The Crux Of Our Relationship. Everything We Feel, We Have To Put Into Words. Sometimes, I Just Want To Feel Things.”
A heated argument between Julie and Aksel brings out feelings that he immediately tries to put into words, which further angers the protagonist. She frustratedly shouts that she just wants “to feel things” sometimes, insisting that just because she’s “less analytical,” doesn’t mean she’s weaker.
This “crux of” their relationship eventually breaks what they have, as the way they do things is just incompatible with each other. If they had decided to stay together, Julie would have likely continued to be unhappy and unsatisfied with the life they have built.
Aksel:
“I’m Sure I Things About You That You’ve Forgotten, And The Other Way Round.”
When all has been said and done, Julie and Aksel are left with comion and concern for each other, despite having broken up years before. On Aksel’s hospital bed, they both it to having “imaginary conversations with” each other, with Aksel pointing out that he re things about Julie she may have forgotten.
He takes it further by saying that “all that stuff about” Julie “will go with” him after he dies, but this means his memories will live on through her as well. It’s a tear-jerking and heartfelt moment that will likely stay with viewers long after they’re done watching the movie.
