An intimate exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art.

Joachim Trier’s latest film, ‘Sentimental Value‘, is a family drama about an elderly film director attempting to reconnect with his estranged daughters as he reflects back on his life and his career. Stellan Skarsgård plays Gustav Borg, while his daughters Nora and Agnes are played by Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas respectively. Since their parents divorce they have barely seen their father, who chose to leave Norway for Sweden to focus on his career, but the death of their mother (Sissel) brings Gustav back to Norway and back to the house that his family have owned for generations. Agnes is more sympathetic to Gustav, whereas Nora wants little to do with him – in large part I suspect down to their differing life and family situations.

Gustav’s return to Norway and his family home have him reflecting on his past and the mistakes he has made, and it prompts him to write a screenplay ostensibly about his own mother, filmed in the house he grew up in. He wants Nora (a stage actress), to play the leading role, really as a means to reconnect with his daughter, but his clumsy, direct and at times passive aggressive approach immediately puts her off. Even if his intentions are pure, you can see why Nora reacts as she does. This ultimately leads to up and coming American actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) taking on the role after Gustav meets are after a career retrospective of his at the Cannes Film Festival, with the film from this point following the impact this has on Gustav’s attempts to spend more time with his daughters.

‘Sentimental Value’ is a sharply written and superbly acted drama from Joachim Trier, who is building a very impressive resume of work, and I enjoyed the character studies of the three individuals at the heart of the story. Skarsgård is getting the majority of the plaudits for what is one of his finest and most nuanced performances of his already impressive career, while Reinsve builds on her breakout (at least in UK/US terms) in ‘The Worst Person in the World’, and Lilleaas also impresses. The film is built on character moments big and small where it explores the complex dynamics built up over time, and how Gustav’s use of his art to connect with his daughters is viewed by him as the best way to build a relationship with them, and by them as a cynical way to see them while avoiding disruption to his career aspirations.

It would be fair to say that I didn’t love ‘Sentimental Value’ as much as I hoped I would, and I preferred ‘The Worst Person in the World’, however this is an impressively made movie by just about every measure and viewers will enjoy its mature approach to adult themes.

Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Joachim Trier

Starring: Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Elle Fanning, Anders Danielson Lie, Jesper Christensen, Lena Endre, Cory Michael Smith and Catherine Cohen

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt27714581/