From the moment Sentimental Value premiered at Cannes, it was clear it would receive much acclaim. Films about filmmaking always do well critically, whether deserving or not, and in the case of Sentimental Value, it is certainly the former. Director Joachim Trier’s last film, The Worst Person in the World, finally earned him mainstream acclaim after making a name for himself as one of the definitive voices in Scandinavian cinema with films like Oslo, August 31st.
Sentimental Value starts quite chaotically, as our protagonist Nora (portrayed by the shining star of Norwegian film, Renate Reinsve) battles a panic attack shortly before she is set to go onstage as the lead in a play. Reinsve’s performance plays well into the scene, perfectly encapsulating the mayhem that occurs in the wings of a theatre on a show night. As she rips apart her costume, fusses with her mic and even tries to convince her co-star to take part in some pre-show adultery, this sets the tone for the next two hours.
We soon learn that Nora is one of two sisters who are trying to deal with the loss of their mother when their absent father suddenly reintroduces himself into their lives at her wake. This father comes in the form of one of the most adored Scandinavian actors of all time, none other than Stellan Skarsgård. Perhaps best known for his performances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Mamma Mia, his frequent collaborations with controversial director Lars von Trier and award-winning performance in the Chernobyl miniseries have cemented him as one of the best in the business, and he does nothing but prove this here.
It turns out that their absent father is none other than celebrated director Gustav Borg, who plans not to sell the house left behind by the girls’ mother, but to instead use it as the setting for his long-awaited next film. Not just that, but he also dreams of casting his daughter Nora in the leading role, an idea she could not be less supportive of.
Both Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Nora’s sister, Agnes), and Øyvind Hesjedal Loven (Agnes’ son Erik) provide their own means of support for both Gustav and Nora in different moments of the film. Skarsgård has his own moments throughout that seem specifically designed to portray his character’s out-of-touch nature with both the film industry and his own family life. Whether he is lamenting Netflix’s approach to theatrical releases, or gifting his grandson a DVD of Gaspar Noé’s Irréversible on his ninth birthday, Trier provides Skarsgård with plentiful opportunities to show off his comedic ability.
This is a film that uses humour throughout, often in ways so unexpected that they catch you off guard, despite dealing with ultimately quite depressing themes. The best supporting role in the film, however, comes from Elle Fanning, a child star who has seen her status earn a resurgence in the past year with both A Complete Unknown and, more recently, Predator: Badlands. Here, she plays major American actress Rachel Kemp, who meets Gustav at a film festival and is ultimately chosen to play the lead in his film, in place of his reluctant daughter.
She begins the film as a traditional Hollywood blonde, but as the film progresses, you can see her gradually transform herself more and more into Nora, perhaps as a way to cope with her own self-doubt, which her lack of knowledge of the Norwegian language and culture renders her unfit for the role.
While possibly appearing fit to be branded with the much detested label of “Oscar bait” on the surface, due in part to its meta-narrative focused on filmmaking as an art form and Gustav Borg’s attempted traditional approach to it, Sentimental Value is, at its core, a film about family and, in turn, reconciliation. Trier creates a beautiful film that definitely fits the mainstream more than his previous works, yet still manages to keep the same themes littered throughout it. While the film will certainly be a frontrunner at the Academy Awards later this year for the former reason, it more than deserves all that it gets due to the latter.
