TMS Spotlight: The Neurotic, Emotionally Stunted Young Woman
(Neon Films / MGM Pictures)
WARNING: Article includes spoilers
With all the sequels, reboots, remakes and familiar tropes we get every year; there was one unique, understated theme from mid-budget filmmaking in 2021. The existential neurosis of a young woman nearing the end of life’s first quarter. Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza and Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World were not only viewers’ introduction to the films’ lovely, talented leads [Alana Haim and Renate Reinsve]; but also different executions on a woman in her late 20s/early 30s in denial about aging. We’ve gotten plenty of great, relatable coming of age pieces on the limbo period right out of high school or college. I still believe the first 40 minutes of Mike Nichols’ The Graduate (1967) perfectly captures that ‘what now?’ feeling the first 6-12 months after graduation. But what about those still going through the motions of living in their hometown, without careers or not raising families, many years after school ends? Licorice Pizza and Worst Person in the World take a stab at the question from multiple angles.
(MGM Pictures / United Artists)
P.T. Anderson’s Licorice Pizza has received [a deservedly] hefty amount of judgment and apprehension for its portrayal of an unethical, dysfunctional friendship/almost relationship between Haim’s 25-year-old Alana Kane and Cooper Hoffman’s 15-year-old Gary Valentine. The idea is supposed to be that Alana is so unhappy, frustrated and unsatisfied with being an adult, that she resorts to still identifying with teenagers. This isn’t really a problem at the beginning of the film, when we see Alana has a very flimsy part-time job as a photography assistant and dates guys her own age, while still living at home. She reminds Gary being involved with her would be inappropriate. Though she sometimes flirts back, she’s still apprehensive and mostly giving him a hard time. Things begin to get blurred for the characters and the audience when she chooses to keep hanging around him and taking their interactions personally.
I’ve joked Licorice Pizza is just Haim fanfiction made by a respected Hollywood filmmaker, and it’s not an entirely false statement. PTA wrote the main character specifically for Alana, even keeping first name and giving her a fictional surname that rhymes with the common mispronunciation of her real last name. Both of her sisters and bandmates—Este and Danielle—play her on-screen sisters, their real parents play the parents on screen, and they all keep their real names as well. The story is set in SoCal’s San Fernando Valley, where the Haim family and Anderson are from, although Licorice Pizza is set in 1973. Both versions of the Haims are Jewish, and Danielle even plays guitar just like she does in reality. But there are enough differences to not give the viewer the impression PTA just borrowed Alana’s life. Besides the retro setting, Alana and her sisters don’t have a famous indie pop band on film, and Alana has hopefully stayed friends with people near her age. And from what I’ve seen of the musician in interviews and behind the scenes, she’s much more low maintenance and bubbly off camera than the Alana in the movie.
Alana Kane’s irritation and loose temper result in angry outbursts, to the point where some viewers perceive her as immature. While I can see this point of view, I will say one thing completely spot on in Licorice Pizza, is how suffocating it can feel being around your family from living at home too long. It’s hard to identify with the female lead when she’s yelling at her sisters or parents, or when she’s arguing with Gary, but there are moments where we can see where she’s coming from too. I can still remember the moment in my mid-20s when it hit me my adolescence was long gone and never coming back, and that feeling is chilling. But the thing is, when you have that moment of clarity, it’s usually a wake-up call to move on and accept you’re a responsible adult now. With Alana, we never really see her experience a revelation like this. Or more, we think we will a couple of different times, but then she quickly goes back to making bad decision after bad decision and not learning anything. I’m sure this is true for some people in the real world, but as someone watching Licorice Pizza; it kind of seems like Alana Kane is very close to becoming the female version of Matthew McConaughey’s character in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused (1993).
I still liked PTA’s new movie, even with its issues, and a big part is because of Alana. I really enjoyed Alana Haim’s performance and first time acting, and hope she continues to experiment with film and TV. I like that Alana Kane is imperfect and doesn’t appear or behave like your typical indie romcom ingenue. Haim and Hoffman actually do have some cute, genuine screen chemistry, although it would have been better utilized with their characters written as strictly platonic. Yet I can’t ignore some parts of Licorice Pizza really bother me. One of them is the final 90 seconds of screentime, which honestly would have made a huge difference if they were just not included or PTA shot them totally differently. Giving Alana and Gary a happy ending together and not having them part to be with significant others their own age is irresponsible of the adult who created the characters. Which is a shame, because if you take away just the last minute or two, it would be a lot easier to fully embrace Alana as a protagonist. [And no, I don’t buy the fan theory that the ending is supposed to be ironic or fantasy, especially after PTA’s comments during the film’s press tour.]
(Oslo Pictures / Neon Films)
My favorite movie to come out in the past year might be Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World, and Renate Reinsve’s Julie one of my favorite new film characters. Like Alana, she’s stalling on properly ‘adulting.’ But unlike Alana, she has no interest in conversing with teens and is only surrounded by grown-ups. Alana is 25 for all of Licorice Pizza, but Julie begins Worst Person around 27 and ends the film at 32. She’s one step ahead of Alana by living on her own, but she still doesn’t know what to do with her life a decade into adulthood. She starts as a med student, then suddenly switches schools when she discovers she prefers psychology. But no, actually, it turns out she enjoys photography; and hey, she’s a pretty good writer to boot. During all these changes, Julie works at a local bookstore in modern day Norway. Her love life is just as sporadic, with Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie)—a successful comic book writer-artist—as her boyfriend for the first half of the story; and an ordinary barista named Eivind (Herbert Nordrum) her love interest for the second hour of film. Aksel is a decade older than Julie, while Eivind is closer to her age.
Joachim has regularly named Woody Allen’s Annie Hall (1977) as a big influence on his own artsy romcom, and it shows in the best way. I’ve also seen quite a few people online compare Worst Person to Marc Webb’s (500) Days of Summer (2009), which isn’t surprising since the hit millennial romcom was also influenced by Annie Hall. Despite the titles, the protagonists of both Annie Hall and (500) Days of Summer are actually the men in the relationships. Whereas with Worst Person, we’re centered on Julie. The title, The Worst Person in the World, has gotten a lot of different interpretations from fans, since it’s not entirely confirmed why Julie is given the label. My personal assumption is that it refers to the fact that Julie starts seeing Eivind before she’s even officially broken up with Aksel; overlapping the relationship behind the latter’s back, essentially making her a cheater. Now, as bad as this is, I can find Julie’s poor choice of judgment a little more forgiving than say, Alana flashing a minor. Calling Julie ‘the worst,’ I think is a little over the top, and part of me thinks the international title—Julie in 12 Chapters—is more fitting. But, maybe Joachim and writing partner Eskil Vogt are also challenging us to see Julie as just another, flawed human on the planet without putting her on a pedestal.
Honestly, I don’t have many criticisms for The Worst Person in the World’s Julie. The only thing I can think of isn’t really a complaint, and more confused amusement regarding Julie & Aksel’s age gap. After the couple first have sex, Aksel suggests they end their fling soon, since she’s “so young,” and should enjoy dating in her peer group. This whole exchange surprised me because when I originally saw the trailer and ads for the movie, I thought they were roughly the same age. Renate was 32 during filming, while Anders was 41. We know Julie is in her late 20s-early 30s, but Aksel’s age is never clarified. Some of the official summaries and reviews of the movie suggest Aksel is 15 years older, with some going as far as to say two decades older. I really don’t think anyone would look at Renate and Anders and believe he is that much older than her. They both look their ages [nine years apart], which is virtually no big deal for responsible adults over 25. I also find it a little funny the dialogue emphasized this, since society has jokes and clichés about Europeans making fun of Americans for criticizing age differences—yet Worst Person is a Norwegian film.
Besides this, I loved Julie as a character. The film doesn’t make excuses for her mistakes or sloppy practical thinking, yet gives her personality plenty room for legitimate, likable and redeeming qualities. She doesn’t get the typical happily ever after with either man, and we’re given the impression that’s okay, because life isn’t over yet and she still has time. Renate’s presence is a breath of fresh air and would never make you think this is her first lead role. She’s a dead ringer for Dakota Johnson in profile, but has her own charm and beauty in motion; and the charisma sizzles between Renate and both Anders and Herbert. It’s funny, I don’t have much in common with either Julie from Worst Person or Alana in Licorice Pizza, yet there were multiple moments where I understood how they felt. It’s even more impressive they were crafted by two middle-aged men [Joachim and PTA], who aren’t exactly known for being ‘women’s directors,’ to use an old-fashioned term.
With how much PTA was praising both Joachim and Renate this past awards season; I can only assume [or wish] we get a new picture with both leading ladies directed by the American himself in the future.
(Stefanie Keenan / Getty Images)