Sentimental Value
Rating
Director
Joachim Trier
Screenplay
Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier
Length
2h 13m
Starring
Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Ings Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Elle Fanning, Anders Danielsen Lie, Jesper Christensen, Lena Endre, Cory Michael Smith, Catherine Cohen
MPAA Rating
R
Original Preview
Review
Complex family relationships built on years of distrust and recriminations characterize the length of Sentimental Value, a Norwegian film about a woman trying to cope with the death of her mother.
Renate Reinsve stars as Nora Borg, a celebrated stage actress who suffers from intense bouts of stage fright. As we see her prepare to take the stage her panic attack threatens the start of the play. While stagehands and the film’s director attempt to coax her out of her out of her dressing room, she makes her way backstage before attempting to flee again then finally settling into a heated kiss with married colleague Jakob (Anders Danielsen Lie). This gives her the grounding she needs to take stage and explains nearly everything you need to know about Nora’s character in the span of a single introductory segment.
That’s the beauty of the script from Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier. It allows the characters to develop not primarily through dialogue but situations. Although the other characters have more traditional narrative introductions, Nora’s is imparted entirely through Reinsve’s superb performance. This isn’t a film about Nora’s career, however, it’s about her relationship with her distant father Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård) a celebrated filmmaker embarking on his most personal directorial effort yet; her sister Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), a historian who skipped a career in the arts; and Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning), a popular American actor brought into a role that Gustav had intended for his daughter.
It’s through their interpersonal dynamics that director Trier elicits from his actors relatable performances of flawed people trying to find a way to navigate the difficulties in being part of a family that hasn’t always been emotionally cohesive. Skarsgård’s performance as Gustav gives him the necessary avoidant personality keeps him from his daughter at key moments in her life, finding excuses to avoid spending time with her. Afraid of damaging the fragile relationship they have, he wants to be more present but years of distance make it difficult for him to remake that connection. His screenplay is his vehicle for doing that and when Nora declines his offer, he finds a new muse in an actor who can deliver the performance he wants but with whom he connects on a personal level that he can’t do with his daughter.
Fanning is luminous as the starlet wanting to branch into “foreign” films in an effort to break out of the dreary commercial roles she’s used to. It’s an interesting transition for Fanning as she’s been an arthouse darling for years, delivering some of the finest performances, even as an incredibly young actor. Rounding out the quartet, Ibsdotter Lilleaas gives a quiet but powerful performance as the one person in Nora’s life who understands her sister intimately. Nora has trouble relating to others but has never struggled where her sister is concerned. Ibsdotter Lilleaas carries a scene late in the film where Nora is on the verge of mental collapse as a result of their father’s continued disappointment. It’s a riveting moment that Reinsve helps elevate into a quietly powerful scene.
Sentimental Value is a film of silent moments stretching across deeply felt emotions. Family drama subtly reinforced by absence, momentary pauses in action, and gentle yet powerful performances that give the narrative resonance, relatability, and that complexity of human emotion that comes across so convincingly.
Review Written
February 24, 2026
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