Sentimental Value
- Mar 31
- 3 min read
A cavalcade of great performances deftly directed by Joachim Trier made SENTIMENTAL VALUE a richly deserving nominee for Nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture of 2025.
This deeply felt portrait of a family with decades of history, a life in the arts and tragedy in their lineage is beautifully compelling.
It pulled me in fast with its opening scenes and never let me off the edge of my seat. Flawlessly crafted, compelling human relationships are fascinating to watch and Trier (The Worst Person in the World, Thelma) has created something truly special with the Borg family.
Nora Borg (a brilliant Renate Reinsve) is an actress we meet as she's about to take the stage, the orchestra is cued, the audience is ready, but she finds every reason she can think of to run from the stage and hide. I was terrified for her and pulled into her story immediately.
We meet her sister, Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) whose adult life is far removed from the world of entertainment. She's raising her young son with her husband Even (Andreas Stoltenberg Granerud).
Their father is Gustav Borg (perfectly cast Stellan Skarsgard) a famous, well respected film director who has just written his first big film in years.
As the film unfolds, Trier's screenplay reveals subtle layer after layer of dynamics within the family. This is the type of writing I admire most. Every scene, every setting, every word of dialogue feels spontaneous, emotionally sound and powerful.
It's clear that when Gustav left Nora and Agnes' mother, that their lives became easier, the home became less of a battleground, but it's also clear that Gustav wasn't the most present of Fathers.
Assuming you know anything about these people, or that they are going to fall into boring cinema stereotypes is a huge mistake. The brilliance of the film is the discovery along the way.
When Gustav approaches his daughter Nora to play the lead in his new film, to be shot at their family home, she immediately refuses. She seems to have a million valid reasons why.
He approaches one of the biggest box office draws in America, Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) to play the part. Kemp, tired of being stuck in popular American films with no real weight, jumps at the chance to be in an important film from a respected Norwegian director.
What follows is a collision of family, film making and a reckoning on age and legacy.
The family home becomes a character all itself and is beautifully shot. The memories and expectations in those walls weigh heavily.
I loved the scenes with Gustav and his long time producing partner Michael, perfectly played by Jesper Christensen from "Casino Royale". Their conversation about growing older and their current station in life is just one of many moments of the film that stay with you.
Fanning is terrific as Kemp too. Her self doubt about the role and search for the character is palpable.
I admire Trier's structure of the film. He assumes the viewer is watching and invested, never pandering to an audience that needs him to hold their hands. Scenes leap, settings jump, long quiet moments inform as much as any brilliant dialogue (and yes, it's brilliant dialogue). Reality and art blend. Personal memories are just that and are often startling to the other person that shares them.
I've rarely seen realism and art blended so seamlessly.
The ending is perfect.
This is a beautiful, complex and very rewarding film.
Reinsve is a jaw dropper as Nora. She would have been my pick for Best Actress, bar none. Her performance is one of the best I've ever seen. You cannot take your eyes off her from opening scene to closing perfection.
SENTIMENTAL VALUE is an A+, conjuring up echoes of "Vertigo", "Interiors" and Tracy Letts' "August Osage County" while delivering a stunning original film.
Academy Award Winner, Best International Feature Film, Norway's first win the the category.
Nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress for Reinsve, Best Actor for Skarsgard, Best Supporting Actress for Fanning and Best Supporting Actress for Lilleaas and Best Editing.
(In Norweigan with English Subtitles.)
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