Director Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” is a searing portrait of a family set in Oslo. The film marks the third collaboration between Trier and actress Renate Reinsve, following their 2021 film “The Worst Person in the World” and Reinsve’s small role in the 2011 film “Oslo, August 31st.”
“Sentimental Value” follows the Borg sisters, Nora (Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), as they reunite with their estranged father Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård) after their mother’s passing.
Gustav, a filmmaker, wants Nora to act in his upcoming project. But built-up resentment and emotional trauma compel Nora to swiftly decline, and the role ends up going to famous American actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) instead.
The Borgs don’t seem to know how to cope with all of their grief, so they store it in their family’s acutely nostalgic home, a light-flooded house with a charming red trim. The house itself acts as a character in the film, with a little crack creeping down one wall, threatening to destabilize the family’s world.
The cinematography is intimate, keenly observant and captivating. Each shot of the house actually warms the heart, and the varied tensions between characters are viscerally felt.
The four main actors do their part, delivering riveting performances with an intensity that is almost addictive. Fanning is eager as Kemp, and Skarsgård plays an earnest and intense Gustav, but the two pale against the utterly masterful performances by Reinsve and Lilleaas.
Reinsve has a face that is impossible to look away from. When Reinsve is on screen, there is nothing for audiences to do but watch her perform, breath held, eyes wide. As Agnes, Lilleaas plays a woman working hard to remain sturdy for her loved ones while still carrying her own pain, artfully portraying the softness beneath a shell of capability.
“Sentimental Value” is stronger for its predominant use of the Norwegian language. Not only is the dialogue a pleasure to read in the subtitles, there is a sincerity and depth that can only be delivered in Trier and the actors’ native tongue.
The script, written by Trier and Eskil Vogt, never tries hard to be poetic but always succeeds. The dialogue, though sincere, never ventures into the overly sentimental or cheesy. Instead, its familiar cadence bolsters the actors’ performances, translating the characters into authentic individuals.
“Sentimental Value” is a gorgeous film, not only in its visual merit but in its tenderness and expansive sense of love. Reinsve and Lilleaas give two of the best performances of this year, made only stronger by Trier’s caring direction.
