Sisters Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleas) reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård), a once-renowned director who offers stage actress Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. When Nora turns it down, she soon discovers he has given her part to American movie star Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) who is desperate to do something meaningful.  Suddenly, the two sisters must navigate their complicated relationship with their father — and deal with a Hollywood star dropped right into the middle of their complex family dynamics.  The wounds run deep in this family, tethered to a home that has spanned generations and all of the highs and lows of life through the decades, including Gustav’s mother’s imprisonment torture during World War II. 

Deftly exploring the uneasy tension between artistic expression and personal connection, Sentimental Value is a bracingly mature work from writer-director Joachim Trier that’s marvelously acted across the board.  The film builds subtle emotional momentum. We know there will be emotional breakthroughs for these characters, but they don’t come melodramatically. They come gradually, patiently, and believably, in what’s unsaid as much as what is. Trier and his longtime cowriter Eskil Vogt have crafted a deeply humane and relatable story that feels whole and satisfying and cinematic without resorting to tidy resolutions and redemptions.