Girl in Red Makes Her Acting Debut in 'Low Expectations' — But She's Not Playing Herself
Marie Ulven, the Norwegian pop artist known worldwide as girl in red, makes her feature film acting debut as the lead in Eivind Landsvik's drama Low Expectations. The film premiered at Cannes' Directors' Fortnight and screened at the Norwegian International Film Festival Haugesund, with sales agency Salaud Morisset having sold it to multiple territories (Variety).
Ulven plays Maja, a 29-year-old Norwegian pop musician whose star burned too bright too quickly. After years of international success, Maja breaks down and returns to her hometown, where she takes a job at a local high school. The character's unraveling, Ulven told Variety, stems from mental illness, drug abuse, and pressure (Variety). But Maja is not quitting music. Ulven described her character's decision as putting her artistry on pause rather than giving it up entirely.
The casting nearly did not happen. Ulven said she was hesitant when director Eivind Landsvik approached her for the part, because people assumed she would simply be playing herself. She stressed that she is very different from Maja (Variety). Landsvik, for whom Low Expectations is his debut feature, produced the film through the Norwegian company Maipo Film (Variety). The cast also includes Tone Beate Mostraum, Embla Berntsen Stridbeck, and Anders Danielsen Lie (IMDb).
Ulven's own rise to fame was swift. She broke through in 2018, partly on the strength of her single 'I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend.' The New York Times proclaimed she was becoming 'the gay musical role model she never had' (Variety). Since then she has collaborated with Sabrina Carpenter on the song 'You Need Me Now?' and opened for Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour, which Ulven noted was the highest-grossing tour of all time.
What makes this transition worth watching is Ulven's own enthusiasm for it. She said she has a real interest in acting and wants to take on more roles (Variety). Whether that means more festival-circuit dramas or something else entirely is not yet known. For now, Low Expectations — a film about a musician who steps away from the spotlight to find solid ground — stands as her first answer.
