'Sick of Myself' Turns Attention Seeking into Cuttingly Gory Humor
By Sarah Wright
Signe (Kristine Kujath Thorp) is soon to be 30 and has yet to make something of herself. She’s in a toxic power struggle with her boyfriend Thomas (Eirik Sæther), and all her friends seem more accomplished than her. When narcissistic Thomas suddenly becomes a celebrity within the art world, her search for attention ramps up. After witnessing an accident at her job as a waitress, she is mistaken for a victim and an idea sparks. What better way to become the center of attention than to force people to empathize? In a very Münchausen-esque way, a pretend peanut allergy quickly accelerates into giving herself a rare skin disease by overdosing on a Russian drug.
Of course, the moral of the story is, “Be careful what you wish for,” but for a moment, Signe gets the attention she has always wanted — from both friends and the media. Being sick with a mysterious illness that nobody is able to cure becomes her whole personality, and for once, nobody can dismiss or belittle her, not even her egotistical boyfriend.
Sick of Myself is the second feature film from Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli. It premiered last year at the Cannes Film Festival after being nominated for the Un Certain Regard Award. Since then, it has garnered international attention, which is quite rare for a Norwegian movie.
Taglined as an “unromantic comedy,” Borgli’s satire on modern society uses dark humor and elements of horror. It follows in the footsteps of fellow Scandinavian film director Ruben Östlund, who created Tourist, The Square and Triangle of Sadness. This genre of horror uses the state of humanity as the monster of the story. In Sick of Myself, we see the privilege of the main character as she purposefully afflicts herself with illness in order to feel entitled to empathy. The movie is eerily similar to the modern influencer landscape and how far people will go to become famous and maintain celebrity status.
In recent years, the act of faking an illness has become popular on TikTok, where creators simulate both mental and physical conditions to gain followers. In a climate where everyone feels like they have to outshine others, these stunts snowball into more and more extreme situations. This further stigmatizes the sicknesses, causing those who are truly affected to feel more invisible.
In the movie, Signe’s illness gets worse and her body deteriorates, but she still won’t drop the act. At this point, she has scammed her way into a modeling contract, working for an agency that wants to highlight “real” beauty. In a funny portrayal of the fashion industry’s pretense of caring about true diversity, her modeling contract is withdrawn when Signe becomes unrecognizable.
Although the film is grotesque and often gag-inducing, and the main character is infuriatingly narcissistic, the humor is what makes the movie intriguing. There is a moment when Signe harasses her friend into getting an interview with the country’s biggest newspaper, only to be, as she perceives it, “outshined” from the front page by a stabbing victim.
It is no small feat to maintain the viewer’s interest even though the main character is this morally corrupt. In the mixed reviews, some have dubbed the movie too obvious, but Borgli’s no holds barred approach makes for a thrilling and unpredictable watch. Resulting in a trojan horse where deeper meaning is hidden in horror and humor. Last but not least, the fast-paced editing and beautiful camera work that evokes French New Wave cinema and ominous music score, is what elevates the narrative beyond comedy and into such an enjoyable watch.
Sick of Myself is one of the best movies to come out of 2023, introducing Borgli onto the international scene of cinema as a true innovator. ♦