Review of Sick of Myself (Kristoffer Borgli)

About two weeks ago, while eating at work, a colleague said that lately there have been many people on Tik Tok or Instagram showing very rare health disorders, birth deformities, the consequences of medical malpractice and other situations that, among laughter, left everyone present with a bit of a bad feeling, despite continuing to keep laughing with some funny comments. Then, about two weeks later, the director and screenwriter Kristoffer Borgli appears in my life, as if he had been one more person in that conversation, premiering Sick of Myself, a comedy that combines the most excessive personality of Joachim Trier with the most restrained personality of Ruben Östlund, resulting in a fairly balanced satirical work (in its own personalized way).

Not so much because of the topic of talking about social networks, whose imprint weighs heavily on the entire film, but because of how it addresses the issue of ego and, above all, the new ways of finding happiness. If in the 90s, for example, consumerism was synonymous with happiness (at least instant happiness, if temporary), new times have given way to other ways of fighting for it: the need for attention, which has evolved from the beeps on the mobile phone to the buzzes on the Messenger, to now depend on the number of followers, interactions, messages and activity in a world that is no longer only digital or online, but that coexists with the formerly called reality and the algorithm, difficult to differentiate by being more united every day and being much more indissoluble.

Sick of Myself millimetrically dissects all those elements that make up a society that is constantly choosing what it exposes

Sick of Myself millimetrically dissects all those elements that make up society. An exposed society that, whether it shows the good, the bad or makes visible the worst, is constantly choosing what it exposes, scheming about the possibilities of actions and managing in front of them expectations and desires that do not always have to be fulfilled. Perhaps that is why it is so commendable that Borgli manages to reflect lightly on all this in just an hour and a half of footage, focusing almost all his attention on a single character: Signe (Kristine Kujath Thorp), as well as on her partner Thomas (Eirik Sæther), both narcissistic, cynical and a little deranged, like the film itself.

And all of that without it seeming that there is a reflection or a psychological search that explains the whys, even despite frequently showing possible causes. Well, as I said, Sick of Myself does not try to show that it is smarter than the viewer, as Östlund tends to do, but it is not as cautious, reflective or serious (in its lightness) as Trier (the good one) can be. And the short appearance of the actor Anders Danielsen Lie makes it inevitable not to think about The Worst Person in the World, while the presence of art, modeling and social networks sometimes remind us of what Triangle of Sadness (of which I have only seen the trailer, which tells you everything about the movie) or The Square.

Uncomfortable, and the more uncomfortable the funnier, Sick of Myself is a toxic film, hence how much it can be enjoyed. It is able to elevate the comedic aspects in each scene and, at the same time, become increasingly disturbing, exploring the gradual degradation of the protagonist in a dark and funny way, and taking advantage of an editing of scenes that intertwine reality and imagination with such precision. Nuances that, despite the toxicity, it is a pleasure to be inside the head of the protagonist, because it is as engaging as being able to see stories, photos, videos and follow the lives of your most interesting acquaintances and strangers on a daily basis.

Because it is exhibition and voyeurism, because, at least at times, you see a lot of honesty. If, in the middle of all that and without hardly realizing it, we are hit in the face with all those vital contradictions already practically inherent to us (despite the novelty), we find a film that talks about our narcissism inside and outside the social networks, about how we accept our bodies and approach the disease, without ethics or with ethics, without enjoyment or with it, according to what standards, etc.

But hey, we’ll see what time tells me about Sick of Myself. Two weeks ago I started talking with my coworkers about giving visibility to various movements, but we ended the lunch break watching videos of the bush-man scaring people on the street.

I watched and rated Sick of Myself ★★★½ on Tuesday Mar 7, 2023.