Movie Review: Sentimental Value (2025)

Genre: Drama  

Director: Joachim Trier 

Starring: Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Elle Fanning  

Running Time: 133 minutes  

Synopsis: In Norway, veteran film director Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård) abandoned his family years ago and now has a fraught relationship with his two grown daughters. Nora (Renate Reinsve) is a theatre star, while Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), a former child actress, has settled into domesticity. After their mother dies, Nora pointedly turns down her father's request to star in his next film, although he wrote the script for her. Gustav turns to American actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) and they start to prepare for the shoot, while Nora and Agnes navigate around their father's proud stubbornness.

What Works Well: In this thoughtful exploration of awkward father/daughter reconciliation, director and co-writer Joachim Trier delves into a family dynamic beset by abandonment, death, and successive generations of grim determination. With the family house acting as a dominant presence harbouring decades of essential history, Gustav, Nora, and Agnes are unapologetic about their choices, and yet aware of the damage caused. Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas excel in creating real people grappling with essential discomfort, and Elle Fanning is the outsider tiptoeing into intensely personal space. Trier deftly drives the narrative towards a couple of exceptionally well handled plot curves, all while staying true to his characters.

What Does Not Work As Well: The running time is long, and the pacing slow. The deliberate approach is essential to enrich the story, but can also create an endurance test.

Key Quote:

Gustav: Everyone's mad at dad, huh? You two turned out fine, didn't you?

Nora: How can you tell? You don't even know us.



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