Kristoffer Borgli – ‘Sick of Myself’ movie review: into the dark side of the attention economy
In the age of post-truth, when the absurdity of reality routinely surpasses the powers of human imagination and even comprehension, the art of satire is seen by many as a redundant one. However, from time to time, skilled craftsmen manage to conquer their disillusionment about the sociopolitical climate and generate something truly bizarre, which inevitably ends up moving audiences. One such work is Kristoffer Borgli‘s latest film – Sick of Myself.
Starring the talented Kristine Kujath Thorp as Signe, Sick of Myself is built on a pretty simple premise – what if two of the most narcissistic people on the planet date each other? Inspired by a painting by Christian Krohg titled Syk Pyke, Borgli set out to explore the dense symbol of the sick girl in Norwegian art history through a thoroughly modern tale. Contextualised within the omnipresent framework of the attention economy, Sick of Myself is a film that will resonate with younger audiences everywhere.
Stuck in a dead-end career as well as in an unfulfilling relationship with an artist named Thomas (played by Eirik Sæther), Signe struggles to come to terms with the fact nobody seems to be talking about her. Her boyfriend is too busy admiring his fraudulent approach to art and can’t stop talking about himself, leading Signe to wonder where it all went wrong. In a news landscape where only tragic headlines capture people’s attention, her privileged life has nothing much to offer.
That’s exactly why she invents her own tragedy, deliberately seeking out an illegal Russian drug that is known to cause a horrible skin disease just to gain sympathy from her family and friends. Of course, this is famously known as the Munchausen syndrome – which involves people faking or inducing severe symptoms to draw attention to their plight. Borgli connects this medical disorder to a contemporary social phenomenon, exposing the relationship between pity stunts and social media.
In the current landscape of cinematic satire that is dominated by the likes of Ruben Östlund, Sick of Myself fits in perfectly. In addition to the explosively grotesque narrative that we watch with a mixture of disgust and curiosity, Benjamin Loeb’s cinematography perfectly complements the crazy atmosphere of the film. The visual style is in constant conversation with the aesthetic principles of the social media era, asking important questions about the images we project into the world.
Setting aside the influence of art history and current cinematic trends on Sick of Myself, Signe’s descent into the depths of human depravity is strongly reminiscent of Ottessa Moshfegh’s seminal novel – My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Oscillating between frequent delusions of grandeur and the unavoidable horror of reality, Borgli’s interpretation of the idea of publicised self-destruction is both strikingly funny and painfully pathetic.
Sick of Myself is brimming with flashes of brilliance, all of it held together by a powerhouse of a performance by Kristine Kujath Thorp. Even though the function of satire is rapidly changing today, it’s safe to say that the art form will continue to evolve and mirror the unrepresentable present as long as films like this keep gracing our screens every year.
