This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Jacob’s review published on Letterboxd:
This review may contain spoilers.
"The Feeling of Isolation Yet Surrounded by Many"
Oslo, August 31st is one of the most unique films I’ve come across in recent memory. The film uses normal tropes but takes its own spin on them. The film is about a suicidal recovering drug addict named Anders who is 2 weeks away from completing a 10-month drug rehab program. Joachim Trier, the director of Oslo, August 31st, uses distinctive camera movement and cinematography in each scene to convey the point. The film opens with Anders filling his pockets and then jumping into a lake in hopes to drown. Anders fails and must take a cab into the city for a job interview that is in 2 hours but during the interview, he proceeds to admit to being an addict and storms out of the interview. Many scenes like Anders’ suicide are delivered with little to no but through the use of the camera placement, you can feel the emotions of Anders. A certain scene I would like to point out is the café scene, we see Anders sitting normally as one would in a busy café. Nothing off-putting under the scope of the naked eye but Anders starts to listen in on the conversations around him and depict little pieces of information about each exchange. Anders is alone in this scene; he is hearing everyone around him conversing with someone else and he is utterly alone at this very moment. Anders is disturbed by the domestic blessedness everyone around him seems to have, whereas Anders himself cannot experience this.
Anders spends the rest of the day meeting up with old friends, yet those friends aren’t as warm as they once were because of Anders. Anders realizes how much hurt and pain he put everyone around him through during his talks with his old friend Thomas. Thomas and Anders have a lengthy heartfelt discussion about their lives when they meet. Anders details how his parents have to sell the house he grew up in because of what Anders has done to them through his addiction. You don’t see any of his family in the film, even when Anders is supposed to meet his sister in the late afternoon, she ends up sending her girlfriend as her substitute. What the film does here illustrates just how isolated Anders is. Another scene showcasing his isolation is when Anders decides to call up an old girlfriend, Iselin, who he was dating while addicted to drugs. Further showcasing how alone Anders truly is.
Anders remembers about the party Thomas told him during their discussion about and Anders leaves for it hoping to see Thomas there but is surprised to not see Thomas but rather see many old friends of his who don’t know about his recent soberness, Anders breaks this sobriety by drinking with them, hoping to feel somewhat connected to them through this vessel. Anders doesn’t feel anything other than sadness and retreats to an empty room where once again calls Iselin and leaves a message wondering if she still loves him. Anders is forced to leave the party after being caught rummaging through purses and stealing money.
Anders decides to go to his old drug dealer’s place and buys a larger-than-usual amount of heroin. Anders leaves to meet up at a bar with a friend and keep partying. Later in the night, Anders would go on to meet a woman who he likes enough to continue to converse with her late into the night. Before leaving Anders sees the man who Iselin cheated on him with, Anders proceeds to forgive the man but the man scoffs and retaliates that he doesn’t care about his apology, then says something that will stick with Anders until the end of the film, “I don’t know you, but I’ve seen the consequences of how you treat people close to you.”
Anders leaves after this exchange and proceeds to drink and party until his so-called friends elect to go to a local pool which will be shut down soon because it is now the last day of August. The others swim and frolic about in the pool but Anders refuses to accompany them, Anders starts to see a ray of light for himself after traveling through his dark path of addiction. But Anders comes to a gloomy understanding of his life. Anders leaves to go back to his family home where he finds everything out of order due to the packing. Anders calls Iselin one final time telling her that he didn’t mean the things he said in his earlier message. Anders realizes that he can’t go through another cycle of addiction when it causes everyone around him pain and anguish. He then retreats to his childhood bedroom to overdose on the heroin he purchased earlier and proceeds to commit suicide.
Once again, Anders is alone.