Rating: NR | Runtime: 97 minutes
Release Date: September 9th, 2022 (Norway) / April 14th, 2023 (USA)
Studio: Scandinavian Film Distributio / Utopia
Director(s): Kristoffer Borgli
Writer(s): Kristoffer Borgli

Narcissists are the ones who make it.

Always the accomplice in her artist boyfriend’s crimes despite never receiving public of private credit, Signe (Kristine Kujath Thorp) has had enough. Thomas (Eirik Sæther) is starting to take off with gallery shows and magazine interviews that talk about his art (resculpted furniture he and Signe stole from posh stores) with an air of genius.

And there she is constantly being pushed aside by more “important” people to the point where everyone in a room who doesn’t already know her assumes she’s his sister because he refuses to introduce her at all. Signe cannot stand his narcissism and thus narcissistically begins to sabotage his events so the light can shine on her too. It’s not enough, though. Society only truly turns its head for train wrecks. So, a train wreck is what she becomes.

Kristoffer Borgli’s Sick of Myself therefore starts small. First, it’s about helping Thomas in his insane stunts if he agrees to give her credit. He doesn’t. Then it’s doing an actual brave, good thing by coming to the aid of someone in need. Signe plays up the heroism (like most would), but eventually takes it too far when she refuses to acknowledge that bringing it up over and over again with the same handful of acquaintances only makes her look desperate.

So, she dabbles with health issues—feigning an allergy in a room of strangers to finally reap the rewards of stealing all the attention that was supposed to be reserved for Thomas. Pity is the key. Theatrics and an audience ignorant to her psychopathy is crucial to conjuring it. A quick Google search later and she’s abusing Russian anxiety medication for its side effect: a heinous and scarring rash.

It’s an hilariously absurd premise that reveals just how pathological her yearning for fame and importance is. Not only is Signe putting an unregulated substance in her body that’s doing how many other horrible things below the surface of her skin, but Thomas is embracing his own attention so immensely that he believes himself above the law.

Everything they do and say becomes a byproduct of a “brand” that exists for no other reason but exposure. It’s not about Thomas’ work being seen. It’s about how it’s seen. It’s not about Signe becoming the focus of everyone who reads the local paper. It’s about monetization and global reach. These deluded souls are so self-absorbed that they become jealous enough of each other’s reach to act in ways that compromise their own dreams of grandeur.

The darkly comic tone won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it will definitely tickle those who embrace its unorthodox commentary. Signe is prone to daydreams depicting how she believes her next moves will unfold—nightmares causing her to ignore reason and double down or fantasies that only find her waking up to a new and unexpected ailment she’ll always try to exploit before thinking about finding a solution.

It has enough to say about mankind’s obsession with celebrity and capitalist greed’s manipulation of the disadvantaged for profit to give the whole value beyond just the satirical nature of its narrative, but I think its success on that superficial level makes it worth a look too. Sometimes it’s nice to spend an hour or so with truly deranged characters to know our own egos can always be worse. Better to laugh at the cautionary tale than become one yourself.

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Kristine Kujath Thorp in SICK OF MYSELF; courtesy of Utopia.