'Sentimental Value' is a family drama that lets everyone off the hook too easily

"Renate Reinsve, the radiant star of The Worst Person in the World, here plays Nora, an accomplished stage actor whose mother has recently died. As she grieves with her younger sister, Agnes, wonderfully played by Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Nora must deal with the return of their long-estranged father, Gustav, played by Stellan Skarsgard. Gustav, a film director of some note, abandoned the family when the girls were still young."

"In superb movies like Reprise, Oslo, August 31st and The Worst Person in the World, he has probed the artistic dreams and frustrated desires of characters trying, and often failing, to figure out who they are. Trier's thoughtfulness is apparent even in his more middling films, like the Jesse Eisenberg drama Louder Than Bombs and the supernatural thriller Thelma, both of which were keyed into the profound ways our families can mess us up."

Sentimental Value centers on Nora, an accomplished stage actor grieving her recently deceased mother while supporting her younger sister, Agnes. The sisters confront the return of their long-estranged father, Gustav, a once-prominent film director who abandoned the family years earlier. Gustav presents Nora with a script; she declines and he casts Hollywood star Rachel Kemp, creating industry satire around a Netflix-financed production. The film examines family trauma, identity, artistic ambition, and cross-cultural unease as Rachel struggles with material rooted in Gustav's own tragic past. Strong performances and thoughtful direction coexist with a tone that can feel lofty and less vital than Trier's best work.

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