Sentimental Value

Director: Joachim Trier
Starring: Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Elle Fanning, Anders Danielsen Lie, Jesper Chistiansen, Lena Endre, Cory Michael Smith, Catherine Cohen, Andreas Stoltenberg Granerud, Øyvind Hesjedal Loven, Lars Väringer, Ida Marianne Vassbotn Klasson 
Running Time: 133 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)  

Early in Joachim Trier's Norwegian Oscar winner Sentimental Value, the main character suffers a debilitating bout of stage fright, and judging from the reactions of those closest to her, they've seen this before. Eventually, she'll power through, but with barely a second to spare as the cast and crew anxiously wait on pins and needles. Of course, such panic ridden episodes often have nothing to do with how well an actor knows their lines or skill level, but whatever else is going through their mind at the moment, which usually includes a few nightmarish scenarios related to failure and insecurity. 

While those intrusive thoughts may be fleeting, they're no less paralyzing, and from what we can tell from the protagonist's unusual coping mechanisms, there's a lot more happening underneath. Trier and co-writer Eskil Vogt reveal what as the narrative zigs and zags, hitting occasional lulls before arriving at its inevitable, but still moving conclusion. As a small scale relationship drama about intergenerational trauma, it doesn't exactly break new ground, but the performances and pangs of missed opportunities and regret strongly resonate, echoing through the walls of this family's home.

Respected film director Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård) is in a slump, struggling to get his latest projects financed when he completes a script inspired by his mother Karin, who was tortured by Nazis before eventually committing suicide in their Oslo home when he was a child. It's also the same house his two daughters Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) were raised in by their therapist mom after he left Norway following their divorce. Now as adults, Nora is a successful stage actress having an affair with a colleague while sister Agnes is a married historian raising young son Erik (Øyvind Hesjedal Loven) with her husband.  

When Nora and Agnes's mother dies, Gustav unexpectedly returns to Norway to reclaim the house despite the lingering resentment from his daughters. That's especially true for Nora, who refuses to read Gustav's new script, rejecting the idea of her playing his mother. Disappointed, Gustav instead casts popular American actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) whose star power helps secure the film a Netflix deal. While seemingly up for this challenge, the role proves more difficult than Rachel envisioned, with Gustav clumsily using the movie as a vehicle to compensate for his own shortcomings as a father. But when actually faced with taking responsibility and connecting with both his daughters, he risks losing them for good. 

Jumping back and forth through time between the sisters' childhood, Gustav's and the present day, the house takes on a life of its own, becoming as much a character as its occupants, mainly due to all the memories forged inside. This isn't lost on Gustav, whose big plans involve filming there with Nora as his lead. But we can tell the very thought of working alongside him disgusts her, as she doubts he'll be able to effectively communicate any better on set than in real life. 

Nora sees right through Gustav's intentions, which involve casting her to make up for years of  abandonment, alcohol abuse and emotional inaccessibility. And if even her mother's recent death can't bring them any closer, nothing will, much less a vanity project at the end of a career he prioritized over them. 

While Nora's understandably hard headed about reaching a compromise, Agnes implores her to at least keep an open mind, even if Gustav does himself a disservice by bombarding Nora with backhanded compliments about how her talent's wasted on the stage. Having starred in her father's most acclaimed film as a young girl, Agnes can relate, despite seemingly emerging from their tumultuous past better adjusted than her sister, though not without some lingering scars.

Gutav's determination to get his film made with or without Nora leads him to cast Rachel, the young ingenue impressed by his work and looking to prove herself. But she's also all wrong for a role written for someone else and one of the plot's best aspects is how Gustav refuses to see that, supporting and nurturing Rachel in a way he never did his daughters. Unfortunately, he won't be able to repair the real relationship with someone else playing pretend for him, no matter how good an actress she is or isn't. 

Fanning has a tricky job in that she's called upon to have Rachel recognize the misguided futility of Gustav's experiment. It's also very meta in the sense that she's heavily pulling from experiences performers have when stuck in parts they feel ill suited for, digging deep and pulling at every thread to make it work. She's scared to death of screwing up, which could be viewed as mirroring Nora's stage fright, though in a slightly different context.  

Thes rehearsal scenes are among the film's best as we watch Gustav guide Rachel through a process that just isn't clicking, but not from a lack of effort. Whether Rachel's even talented is irrelevant since the film's more interested in giving her credit for recognizing what Gustav can't, or doesn't want to. She knows who should really be playing this part.                          

Skarsgård and Reinsve hold this together as we wait to see if the internally troubled Gustav has an epiphany or Nora lets her guard down long enough to realize his movie's an apology, if not also a cry for help. And while the remarkable Reinsve unquestionably carries this, Lilleas's slowly evolving turn as Agnes gradually sneaks up on you, with Skarsgård delivering subtle, understated work as his character struggles to make headway with his daughters. 

Both sisters carry decades worth of familial dysfunction, but one clearly feels the brunt, especially when her father's recent return reinforces just how raw a deal she got. But at the story's crux are complicated emotions and a shared history that somberly bubbles to the surface in its closing minutes, quietly subverting expectations right up until the final reveal.