By Susan Granger
It’s curious how Joachim Trier’s acclaimed “Sentimental Value” delves into the dysfunctional relationship of an aging, often-absent Norwegian filmmaking father and his two grown daughters – just like “Jay Kelly” explores an American movie star’s (George Clooney) attempt to reconnect with his two estranged daughters.
After years of treasuring his celebrated career over his family, divorcing their mother and moving to Sweden, egotistical Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgard) appears at his late wife’s wake and asks his stage actress daughter Nora (Renate Reinsve) to star in his upcoming film, a deeply personal, ‘comeback’ project that treks down the corridors of history and memory, shooting scenes in their Oslo family home.
It’s complicated because after their divorce their therapist mother got the stunning two-story Dragestil (‘Dragon-style’) house – architecturally inspired by Vikings with a steeply pitched roof, culminating in dragon-head finials – but – since papers were never signed – Gustav now owns it.
Volatile Nora rebuffs Gustav’s request, noting that he’s never really acknowledged her theatrical success, a feat she achieved after overcoming years of acute stage fright – and she recalls how he treated her younger sister Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lillieas) when she starred in one of his early films.
So Gustav imports an eager young Hollywood star, Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning), whom he met at a film festival, and encourages her to dye her hair and ‘act’ like Nora. Understandably, she eventually withdraws from the project.
“The trigger for the story was when my mother put my grandparents’ house for sale,” noted Trier in a press conference. “I realized all of the 20th century had happened in that house. My grandfather was a resistance fighter who was tortured and barely survived…filmmaking was his way of coping with that trauma.”
Screenwriting with Eskil Vogt, Danish/Norwegian director Joachim Trier (“The Worst Person in the World”), coordinating with cinematographer Kasper Tuxen, focuses on intergenerational differences and familial love – reminiscent of Chekhov and Ibsen in its many melancholy permutations.
In Norwegian with English subtitles – on the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Sentimental Value” is an affecting, exquisite 8, streaming on Amazon and Apple TV.
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Susan Granger
Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in Journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has appeared on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie critic for many years. Read all her reviews at susangranger.com.
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