Film Review: SENTIMENTAL VALUE: Joachim Trier’s Expertly Acted Drama is Deep and Layered in Terms of its Character Development [NYFF 2025]
Sentimental Value Review
Sentimental Value (2025) Film Review from the 63rd Annual New York Film Festival, a movie directed by Joachim Trier, written by Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier and starring Renate Reinsve, Stellan SkarsgÄrd, Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Anders Danielsen Lie, Jesper Christensen, Lena Endre, Cory Michael Smith, Catherine Cohen and Lars Varinger.
Acclaimed filmmaker Joachim Trier has crafted Sentimental Value, a remarkably complex portrait of a family torn apart by grief and brought together through the power of story telling. Trier and star Renate Reinsve previously worked together on The Worst Person in the World a few years back and it’s terrific to see them working together again to tell such a powerful story. It is veteran character actor, Stellan SkarsgĂ„rd, however, who makes his work in the new film his own personal career triumph. A dedicated actor like SkarsgĂ„rd is hard to find and thanks to the perfect casting of the actor, Sentimental Value rises above any of its scenes that feel like they’re a bit too showy for the deep story the film tells.
This film opens with a house and this home has a very detailed history that has manifested itself throughout the years. We soon meet actress Nora Borg (Reinsve) who is playing games while getting ready to go out on stage to do her latest theatrical production. Nora runs away from the stage like Julia Roberts ran away from weddings in Runaway Bride. Eventually, after being pursued, Nora performs in the show like there’s no tomorrow. Nora’s estranged dad is Gustav (SkarsgĂ„rd), a filmmaker who has had some ups and downs in his career. He seeks the casting of Nora in a new picture inspired by her grandmother’s life after the death of Nora’s mom. Nora disrespectfully declines the offer.
Nora’s dedicated sister, Agnes Borg Pettersen (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), has a son and lives a life where she is often trying to be a good mom and a thoughtful sibling. This film presents the family construct through a considerably complicated dynamic. It appears that Gustav would exploit his family in the name of his art, but the idea arises here that Gustav’s work is his life and his personal situations intersect with his professional ones to a great degree.
The plot thickens when Gustav seeks the assistance of a mainstream, young and blonde Hollywood actress named Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning of A Complete Unknown). This film excels in its presentation of Kemp who is truly dedicated to her craft, but finds some challenges in the new job she has been assigned. There’s a great scene where Kemp bursts into tears to try to show her range as an actress. Fanning has never been better than her work in this supporting part where we see the challenges of acting and the way an artist tries to work within oneself to be the most effective. This film also explores how truth and experience factor into the art of film-making and storytelling.Â
Anders Danielsen Lie is also effective as Jakob, a fellow performer with whom Nora has a torrid affair which she would prefer to keep a no strings attached one. As Nora, Reinsve reflects on sadness to play her role and the character develops quite a bit through the course of the movie. At the picture’s very ending, the picture plays a trick on the audience and I almost believed it regarding Nora’s fate. Her character is so unpredictable that her life choices could go in many different directions. Lilleaas plays Agnes to perfection and the interaction between the family members in this film is rich with subtext and ideas about how their past disappointments factor into the present.
This is Stellan SkarsgĂ„rd’s movie from beginning to end. This film never takes a definitive side for or against his character’s life decisions, instead making us understand Gustav’s motivations and the reasoning for his choices. Often overlooked for his great roles in his early pictures like Good Will Hunting and Breaking the Waves, the character actor becomes Gustav in every way imaginable. Gustav is memorable as a character. He presents to a child some physical media movies that are highly inappropriate in a hilarious scene within the picture. He’s just as unpredictable as Nora and we can see that she is truly his daughter, for better or worse. SkarsgĂ„rd is likely to walk away with the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work in this film and rightfully so.
There are a number of scenes in Sentimental Value that get right to the point. We see images of Gustav at different intervals in his life and the contrast between him and his daughters is thought-provoking. It’s easy to see Gustav has made mistakes, but his humanity is present through the family construct the movie so powerfully presents to the viewer.
Reinsve and Lilleaas make their performances count. They make the art of acting look easy with natural performances that should not be taken for granted or ignored come Oscar nomination time. Elle Fanning is also complex in a role that appears to be a lot less meaningful at first than it actually becomes to the story line.
Stellan SkarsgĂ„rd is ultimately the soul of Sentimental Value. He brings to life Gustav’s pains and passions so effectively that he is the very essence of the movie. His role here is a nice companion piece to George Clooney’s role in Jay Kelly. One is an actor and one is a craftsman and both parts intersect even though they are in different films. It would be nice to see Clooney and SkarsgĂ„rd take home Oscars this year as their portrayals of tortured artists are so layered. SkarsgĂ„rd’s character has a lot of complexity and a past which drives him towards his passion. Clooney’s character is also quite deep and his family also drives his life choices in that picture.
Sentimental Value is a film that should be cherished despite the fact that it feels about fifteen minutes too long. Occasionally, the film loses footing in its storytelling due to a lot of plot development, but the cast cannot be beat and they all ultimately make the movie a memorable one that will not be forgotten come Oscar nomination time.
Rating: 8.5/10
Leave your thoughts on this Sentimental Value review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook‘s patrons.
Readers seeking more New York Film Festival news can visit our New York Film Festival Page, our Film Festival Page, and our Film Festival Facebook Page.
Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page.
Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Mobile App, Google News, Apple News, Feedly, Twitter, Faceboo
Related Articles
