A masterpiece of psychological analysis and a vivid example of a very typical and common psychological disorder, especially among politicians.
Directed by Lilja Ingolfsdottir, a Norwegian filmmaker, and produced by the same producer of The Worst Person in the World. (Movie distributor Alambique)
This is a drama about love, loss, and, above all, the search for identity, inspired by personal experiences. With a penetrating look at pathological behavior, this melodrama tells the story of Maria, a 40-year-old mother of four, divorced, who seduces manipulating (a skill she masters) a man at a party who becomes her second husband.
Seven years into the marriage, her narcissistic symptoms worsen, exacerbated by her growing empowerment and destructive patterns. The film explores the typical mechanisms that turn relationships into emotional hell. By examining the roots of this behavior, a scene with her mother reveals the likely origin of these conflicting reactions.
What could have been a romantic film between a man and a woman becomes exemplary through scenes such as Maria’s dialogue with her reflection in the mirror, evoking the myth of Narcissus, falling in love with her own image reflected in the lake.
Seeing herself as a victim, she resists seeking counseling (believing others are to blame), interpreting any suggestion for change as an attack. She is incapable of truly loving others with empathy instead finding a secret pleasure in causing harm, fearing abandonment, and wanting others to suffer as well. Controlling, jealous, and envious, she questions her husband's activities as a musician.
There is also fear in surrendering passionately, as it is associated with danger and risk, along with a constant need for validation, admiration, and emotional supply. She interprets emotional intimacy not as the union of two identities, but as a symbolic death — an attack on her self.