The Hurtigruten Scandinavian Film Festival guide describes the film like so: “Nora Borg is an established Oslo stage actress while her younger sister Agnes has chosen family life with her young son. Though markedly different, the two are close, having been raised by a single mother after their filmmaker father’s departure years earlier. When the once renowned Gustav attempts to cast Nora in his comeback film, old wounds reopen. Nora rejects his offer, prompting the isolated patriarch to cast American star Rachel Kemp instead. Suddenly, the two sisters must navigate their complicated relationship with their father and as Gustav and Nora attempt rapprochement, the already shaky foundation of the family unit is under threat of toppling.”
Going into my screening of “Sentimental Value”, I had just finished a ten hour shift at work and was also very unwell, so I was quite worried that if the film did not connect with me immediately, that I was going to struggle to focus on it and ultimately not like the film. Thankfully, I had nothing to worry about, as I was with this film right from the opening scene, and loved every second of “Sentimental Value”. For mine, this is Joachim Trier's best film to date, and the script that he and Eskil Vogt have put together is one of the most emotionally rich and thematically complex that I have seen in a very long time. It is also very raw and honest, and despite the title of the film, isn't overly sentimental either. The film tackles many things but it all feels so organic within itself and thanks to Trier's direction, it never feels heavy handed or too dark for the audience to handle or connect with. “Sentimental Value” is ultimately about family, grief, getting older, making peace with death, and the healing power of art. Each of the characters in the film are in so much pain, or dealing with a lot internally, but the drama comes from how each of these characters actually deal with what they are going through and how this affects all the relationships within their lives. Probably the best facet of “Sentimental Value” is that none of these characters are demonised for the choices they have made in their lives (at least, not by the filmmakers), but rather their stories are told honestly, flaws and all, which makes it feel so human and real. Something else that I must mention about the script, is that what isn't said by the characters is just as important as what is being said at times.
To pull off such a wonderful script, Trier needed to cast well and he has done just that, seeing him re-team with his “The Worst Person in the World” star, Renate Reinsve, who plays Nora, the older sister who is dealing with a whole lot of emotional baggage. Reinsve is outstanding in the role, as we get to see so many facets of this fascinating character, from when she is light and giggly while playing with her nephew, to the nervous and panicked actress before she steps out onto the stage, to the girl dealing with dark thoughts due to the neglect she felt from her father whilst growing up, to mention but a few. It is the flashiest role in the film, but she is so good at keeping it grounded and making it feel so real, wherever she may be on the emotional spectrum in any given scene. The scenes with her dad are so painful because you can feel how hurt she is, but you can also sense that all she wants is for her father to “see” her. She needs that recognition from him despite how much she says the opposite. One of the best scenes in the film is at the premiere of her play. She stands backstage focused (unusually for her), bathed in red, as she bursts on stage determined to give the performance of her life, because her dad will be in the audience. After the show, she is getting plaudits left, right and centre, but all she wants is some sort of praise from her father, which never comes because he never showed up for the show (convinced that Nora didn't really want him there in the first place). It is such a heartbreaking moment, which also devastates her sister Agnes, who can see the truth behind her sister's eyes, and which forces her to finally confront their father, which is something that is not normally within her nature to do. This brings me to Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, who plays Agnes, and whilst I am sure Reinsve will likely get all of the attention when “Sentimental Value” actually is released (and for good reason), personally I believe that Lilleaas is the film's secret weapon and the glue that holds it all together. Yes, her role is less flashy than Reinsve's but it isn't any less important, as Agnes is going through just as much as both Nora and Gustav, (particularly due to the fact that she is always stuck in the middle of them both), she just seems to be able to deal with her issues in a healthier fashion then the rest of her family. Because of this though, she is able to see just how much pain her father and sister are actually going through despite their efforts to hide it. Until this film, I was unfamiliar with Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas as an actor, but again, she is absolutely brilliant here, and holds her own beautifully when sharing the screen with both Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård, who plays their father. In other lesser films, you would think that Skarsgård's character would be demonised as he is the essentially the cause of all the pain in the film, but instead Joachim Trier explores Gustav's own childhood pain which enlightens the audience to the reasons behind his cold upbringing of his own children. Again, Gustav feels real, human and yes, very flawed, but through delving into his past we are at least given reasons why he is like this, and once his children begin to understand exactly what he went through himself, they may realise that maybe life wasn't as easy for their father like they initially felt. Through Skarsgård's performance though, he makes Gustav an absolutely charming character; very flirty around the ladies, a serious artist when it comes to the making of his films, and a bit irresponsible when it comes to family matters. This last part actually leads to one of the funniest moments in the entirety of “Sentimental Value” when, at his grandson's eighth birthday party, he gifts him a handful of dvds. All of us film nerds in the audience roared with laughter when the titles are revealed as none of them are close to being appropriate for an eight year old, with Gaspar Noe's “Irreversible” and Micheal Haneke's “The Piano Teacher” being just two of the titles.
As of yet, I have failed to mention Elle Fanning and her character, Rachel Kemp, and if ever a character was going to become a caricature within the film and be made fun of, it would be her, but like all of his characters, Joachim Trier treats her with absolute respect and honesty. Yes, Trier does make fun of her entourage, clearly mocking the “hanger-on ers” that must exist in Hollywood, but he never makes fun of Kemp herself or her want to make the best film she can with Gustav, even when she is struggling to understand the true depth of his script. It is also in this part of the film that Trier makes a few salient points about how hard it is to get movies financed in today's landscape, where financiers are unlikely to put up cash for a movie without a “name” in the lead, as well as the demands streamers put on productions when they put money in to finance it. There is a scene where Gustav is horrified when asked if his new film will go out to theatres (as Netflix is co-funding it), and he says “of course it is! Where else would it play?”, whereas his producer interjects that they are trying to work something out with Netflix now so it will at least have limited screenings in theatres.
As I mentioned at the beginning, “Sentimental Value” is such a rich film, and there are so many elements about the film that I could still talk about, which would make this review go on forever, but one aspect I really must touch on is the healing power of art, and the way that both Nora and Gustav use their art to explore the pain they have experienced in their lives and give it an outlet. In a way, it is only through their art that both these characters deal with their pain honestly, as outside of it, they both hide behind the facades and walls they have built around themselves over the years. We are witness multiple times to Nora breaking down emotionally, and Trier often waits a while before he exposes the truth that she is just acting on stage and that this isn't a “true” breakdown, and yet, we also understand that Nora needs this because she is so reticent to let these emotions boil over in her real life. She tends to bottle everything up, and try to push through, so this release has to be good for, despite how brief a period it may only really help for. Gustav on the other hand, often tackles directorial projects that are personal to him and his life, and give him a chance to make sense of his childhood and the events that happened during them, particularly with his mother. He also uses his films to make a connection to his family members, casting them in roles, so he gives himself some time with them which he normally wouldn't have in his “real” life. One of the greatest scenes of “Sentimental Value” is during a screening of one of Gustav's older films, where a young Agnes played a key role in the film. Gustav is mesmerised by a close up of his daughter in the film, and we understand later why the scene is so important to him, and interestingly why it was so important to Agnes, with both being so different from one another. Finally, the power of art and it's healing capacities are also explored in the film's excellent finale, which I will not talk about or ruin.
Overall, I feel like I have barely scratched the surface about what makes “Sentimental Value” such a great film, it is so rich in content and emotion. Joachim Trier has created his best film to date here, in a story about multi-generational trauma, and the effects this trauma has on family relationships, as well as looking at how art can be used to begin to heal these relationships. It sounds like an incredibly heavy drama, and it does deal with a lot of deep subject matter, but it is never heavy handed nor a chore to sit through and the characters, as flawed as they all are, are a delight to be in their company for the entirety of the film. “Sentimental Value” has also been incredibly well written and performed by the whole cast. Whilst I admit that I am a sucker for stories that deal with father / daughter themes, there is so much else going on in “Sentimental Value” that I have no qualms about recommending this film to anyone who loves cinema. This is such a fantastic film that I am sure will be one of the best of this year.
4.5 Stars.
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