Most films by acclaimed Danish-Norwegian director Joachim Trier tackle the unknowable spaces of human emotions, and they do it rather well. His previous film, breakout indie sensation The Worst Person in the World explored romantic love and why we fall in and out of it and with whom. Sentimental Value applies the same mix of poetry and objective analysis to familial relationships. You certainly can’t pick your family, but if you were Nora (Worst Person star Renate Reinsve), you’d probably do anything to abolish that axiom.
Nora is a successful Norwegian stage actress whom we first meet having a seemingly rare but familiar meltdown backstage — familiar enough for most of the crew to respond quickly and calm her down so the show can go on without a hitch. We’re not quite sure where these sudden blips of emotion stem from, but as the film takes its time to settle us into the space between her, her younger sister Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), and her father Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård), we are able to make an educated guess. A well-known film director, Gustav was never really there for his daughters, and his divorce from their mother didn’t help matters. Agnes suffers from his absence as well, but seems more well-adjusted, although she did star in one of her father’s films as a child to rave reviews.
When Nora and Agnes’ mother passes away, Gustav appears unannounced at the wake. Crucially, he has stepped into the home where many generations of the family have lived, and where so much unspoken family trauma resides. The house is currently occupied by Agnes and her husband and son, but because Gustav never officially signed it over to his ex-wife, he retains ownership. He hasn’t come just to annoyingly joke around and pretend like he was a great father, however. He’s got a new script based on his family life, and plans to use the actual house as the set.
Some things — like the backstories on the family trauma — are told rather than shown here, narrated similarly to the narration in Worst Person. Typically, this kind of exposition gets on my nerves, but Trier is beyond talented enough to balance out the feeling of being told a story with real visual storytelling. Before it blossoms into its stunning third act, Sentimental Value operates in a fairly somber register based on the performances. Trier allows his actors to almost completely dictate the tone of scenes and shots, even while his writing is terrific. Because the conflicts here are relatively (no pun intended) internal, — Nora and Gustav don’t really talk much one-on-one, keeping their character arcs separate but nevertheless interlinked — the film deepens as you adjust to its quiet rhythms. There are certainly comedic moments, as in Nora’s opening meltdown and perhaps the worst birthday gift ever given to a child (given by Gustav), but this is mainly a heartfelt, serious drama about what reconciliation actually looks like.
When Gustav casts famous actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) to play the Nora stand-in in his film, Nora isn’t furious with him at all. She has already credibly turned down the role, because we meet her at a point where she has succeeded in defining her life for her own good outside of her father’s influence. However, like the crack in the foundation of the central house, something keeps needling at all four main characters, and the film ultimately sneaks up on you with loveliness. Skarsgård is undeniably electric in this part, and despite our first impressions of the character, that loveliness wouldn’t land as convincingly without him. Gustav feels so truthful to the dynamics many of us find ourselves in with various family members. He says things which are not intended to injure, but if you sit with his words for a moment, they can turn into mental venom at lightning speed. Perhaps the best scene in the film is a rare conversation between Nora and Gustav where we see the tenor of their relationship from both perspectives. When the film goes wordless, however, that’s when you see Gustav’s true colors, and why these two people remain interlinked.
Sentimental Value never smacks of unearned sentiment because neither Trier nor his actors ever seem to take the easy way out. Trier sets his sights so high in terms of what he’s exploring, and this ensemble always seems prepared to jump. This is such a thoughtful, perceptive, subtle, and at times groundbreaking movie which manages to balance total honesty and total uplift. For a movie made for adults about parents and children, it seems poised to bring out a youthful spirit in all of us. | George Napper
The 34th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival runs Nov. 6-16, 2025 at various locations around St. Louis. Further information is available from the Cinema St. Louis web site.
