Sentimental Value Review

I’ll admit, it took me awhile to gather my thoughts enough to write this review of Sentimental Value. Because, despite finding a lot to love about Joachim Trier’s film, I didn’t find myself as rapturously drawn to the story, the performances, the overall aesthetic of the film as a number of other reviewers. So, I wanted to take some time and really break down my own thoughts on the film to see if perhaps I was missing something – or, if perhaps there was a reason that the movie didn’t impact me on the same level as others. And low and behold, I did in fact figure out just what didn’t jibe with me.

The story is a relatively simple one. Two Norwegian sisters, Nora (a very strong Renate Reinsve, who was the star of Trier’s critically lauded The Worst Person in the World) and Agnes (an absolutely sensational Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) have just buried their mother when there mostly absent father, Gustav (Stellen Skarsgård), returns to their lives. Gustav is a famous film director who hasn’t made a film in some time and he’s come up with the perfect script – one that pulls from his own tragic past, telling the story of a mother who, like his own, sends her child off to school one day and then hangs herself in the sitting room for her child to discover that evening. He presents it to Nora, now a celebrated stage and television actress, as a dream role. She refuses outright, leading Gustav to pivot and cast rising Hollywood starlet Rachel Kemp (a muted, but interesting Elle Fanning). Thus, setting up a push and pull between father and daughters over the course of the film, with several journeys into the past to understand the generational trauma that has plagued this family over the years.

So, what works? Well, for one, the performances. The way the story is laid out, each of the daughters – both Gustav’s biological girls as well as Rachel, who becomes a surrogate daughter replacing the one who refuses collaborate with him – has the chance to go toe-to-toe with their father, trying to uncover just who this man is, why he’s returned (or appeared) into their lives at this moment, and just how they feel about it. For Nora, who entered the same general profession as her father – and who still feels the loss of him deeply, seeing as she is the eldest and had to hold things together when she was far too young – Gustav’s return is shattering. Already overwhelmed by her own internal struggles, the reappearance of her father threatens to throw her completely off her moorings. For Agnes, who was the star of one of Gustav’s most acclaimed films as a child, his return isn’t as confusing. Sure, she is wary of him, but she still clings to that father who spent time with her on set. Who nurtured her, even if he would disappear after filming wrapped for years at a time. But when he requests that her young son appear in his latest film, well, that serves as a divide in their relationship. And Rachel? Well, she’s wondering just what Gustav sees in her, an American known for YA films. Is she just a stand-in for the real actress he couldn’t get? Is she second best?

Each of these women gets the chance to really immerse themselves into their roles. Trier and Eskil Vogt (who co-wrote the script) make sure they are never overshadowed by the Gustav of it all, even as his presence lingers throughout the film like a shadow or pall over the proceedings. Because Gustav is also trying to work through his deeply embedded traumas but refusing to face them head-on.* He’s telling the story of the moment that shattered his childhood, yet he keeps telling Rachel that this isn’t about his mother. Much like Nora refuses – repeatedly – to admit that her father leaving when they were young is a still open wound in her life. Lots of denial in this film. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, it’s Agnes, who has left the entertainment business behind to become a historian (and is married with a child), who is the most well-adjusted of them all. And perhaps it is because she’s actively looking to heal her family’s wounds through studying the history around her grandmother that lets her process her emotions so well. Or maybe it’s because she’s gone on to live in the “real world” while her father and sister (and Rachel) exist in the world of make believe – not matter how emotionally stirring their work is

*If there’s one thing that stands out as a lesson of the film, it’s the power of using therapy – whatever kind works for you – as a means to process your emotional blocks. Gustav and Nora desperately need it, yet they steadfastly refuse it at every opportunity.

Now for what tripped me up with the film. You see, there’s plenty of internal conflict to be had throughout the various relationships. Yet we never really get any actual resolution to, well, any of them. Now, an argument can be made (and certainly has been by some critics) that much like real life, relationships just don’t tie up into nice little bows when you need them to for the story. I understand that. But the choice to present issues throughout the film and just let them continue to linger on leaves the viewer feeling unsatisfied. I don’t need answers to everything – I enjoy getting to try and figure it out myself a bit – but some resolution would have been nice. And I’m not talking about seeing how Gustav’s film turns out. I was left wanting more emotional buy-in from the characters. Seeing that Gustav or Nora had made some forward motion in their lives. As such, the emotional labor of the piece falls on the shoulders of Agnes – and Lilleaas is more than up for the job of carrying it – which makes the story feel uneven at times.

That being said, this is a fine film, with excellent performances, and a story that while not satisfying, is interesting to watch. I found myself swept up in watching this cast spar back and forth, seeing Trier’s camera work highlight key facial shifts that spoke volumes, and seeing just how impressive it was for this Scandinavian cast (save Fanning) to slide in and out of Norwegian into English with no trouble. I just wish there was a bit more heart underneath it all.

Sentimental Value opens on November 7 in the United States. This film was screened at the Chicago International Film Festival.