SENTIMENTAL VALUE - Review | Cannes Film Festival 2025

Joachim Trier’s latest film may provide strong familiarity to his last film given the familiar faces/aesthetic. However, its powerful generational family story along with a more consistent grounded approach makes it a distinct experience from what The Worst Person in the World (2021) provided. Serving as a showcase for the arts helping to confront family trauma with a remarkable ensemble guiding these themes. The layered writing that perfectly blends its humorous and dramatic elements makes it easy to lose track of time when following our central characters deal with their conflicting ideals. Along with its precise montage staging where Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Elle Fanning work so well off one another, this family drama is a great showcase for the laughs/tears Trier can provide as a director.

Still Courtesy – Neon

In Norway, Nora Borg (portrayed by Renate Reinsve) is an actress focused on performing in theater while attempting her best to distance herself from her father, Gustav Borg Pettersen (portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård). A filmmaker who returns to see Nora and her sister Agnes (portrayed by Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) where after not having directed a film for a while, he offers Nora the lead role for a new script he hopes to make. After Nora refuses the role, Gustav ends up connecting with a Hollywood celebrity actress named Rachel Kemp (portrayed by Elle Fanning) who Gustav offers the role that was written for Nora. While the film starts going into pre-production, Gustav continues attempting to reconnect with his daughters using his story based on traumatic family events.

While the film may initially feel familiar to viewers of The Worst Person in the World (2021), particularly due to the return of key collaborators and a similarly intimate aesthetic. The visual language, subtle performances, and emotionally textured atmosphere all echo Trier’s earlier work. However, this new film carves its own identity by shifting focus to a deeply rooted generational family story that draws strength from its emotional maturity and thematic cohesion. The choice to anchor the narrative in a more grounded, less romanticized setting allows Trier to explore familial complexities with greater depth.

What truly sets this film apart is how it uses art—not just as a backdrop but as a thematic vehicle—to help characters confront long-buried trauma. The arts become a conduit for healing, confrontation, and reconciliation, forming an emotional thread that ties the ensemble together. Trier smartly avoids heavy-handed symbolism, instead letting moments of expression—whether visual, performative, or interpersonal—emerge organically. The result is a story that feels lived-in and sincere, even as it wades into the murky waters of regret, forgiveness, and inherited pain.

The script, co-written by Trier and longtime collaborator Eskil Vogt, is a masterclass in tonal balance. Witty and sharp in one moment, then quietly devastating the next, the screenplay allows its characters to breathe and evolve. The humor never undercuts the drama, and the drama never overwhelms the film’s lighter moments. As the central characters wrestle with their often-conflicting ideals and emotional baggage, the writing remains empathetic and nuanced, keeping the viewer fully engaged throughout the runtime.

Much of the film’s impact also lies in its performances and visual storytelling. Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Elle Fanning form a captivating triad, each delivering layered portrayals that feed off one another with remarkable chemistry. Trier’s direction is confident yet understated, particularly in his use of montage and spatial composition, which lend the film a sense of emotional immediacy. This is a family drama that doesn’t just aim to move you—it wants you to feel the texture of every silence, glance, and laugh shared between its characters. In doing so, Trier once again proves himself a master of emotional storytelling, capable of delivering both laughter and tears with rare precision.

Verdict

9/10

Still Courtesy – Neon