Found out from watching the Criterion extras that Anders Danielsen Lie is a practicing doctor, ellewoods-whatlikeitshard.gif.
Still very much enjoy this movie, even though I think the voiceover undercuts the performances sometimes. The arresting visual moments — blowing smoke into a waiting mouth, the time-freezing sequence — are still high points but what stuck with me this time were the quieter moments where Reinsve, Lie, and Nordrum get space to convey emotion, often without words.
This essay (The Lonely Landscapes of “Materialists” and “The Worst Person in the World”) by Alisha Mughal is well worth your time. I thought of it while watching the film, asking myself why Julie doesn’t have any close friends. (Also very appropriate given that Dakota Johnson is Renate Reinsve’s American doppelgänger.)