Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning on the Personal Nature of Making Joachim Trier’s ‘Sentimental Value’

Alci Rengifo

Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning speak about making Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” as a personal experience. It is the job of actors to create characters, give them life, and shape them into believable presences onscreen, yet to be in Trier’s masterful drama about family and the artistic process meant tapping into deeper wells. This film further cements the Norwegian director as one of the most important filmmakers in the world right now. One could already sense his emergence to this status with his last outing, 2022’s “The Worst Person in the World.” Marking the global breakthrough of its star, Renate Reinsve, few could have predicted that Norway would produce one of the great cinematic representations of the millennial experience. The two reunite with a stellar cast that includes Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning for a different kind of story that nonetheless carries Trier’s distinct voice, and Reinsve’s unique presence. “We understood how deeply we were connected artistically on ‘Worst Person in the World,’” Reinsve tells Entertainment Voice. “We had the urge to work together again and had so many ideas in playful stages. Joachim goes off into the writer’s room and, of course, decides if he wants to keep me, so I’m thankful that he did.”

In “Sentimental Value,” Reinsve plays Nora, a stage actor in Norway who is clearly talented but internally has much emotional turmoil. It is obvious when she has a panic attack before a modernist performance of “The Doll’s House.” Her sister, Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), could have also been an actor but decided to get married and have a child. Both sisters were marked in childhood by their father, Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård), a renowned film director who is now in his twilight years. They barely know this man, who left them and their mother to indulge in his career and chase his inner demons. Now that their mother has passed away, Gustav suddenly returns, offering Nora the chance to act in his latest screenplay. Not only is it inspired by the suicide of his own mother, but Gustav wants to shoot it in the family their home, which is where he grew up before leaving his sisters behind to inhabit its rooms. When Nora refuses, Gustav tries to prepare the project with a famous American actor, Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning).

“Joachim is like no other, he’s one of a kind,” says Fanning about working with Trier. “His sets are so special. He creates these environments where you feel safe to expose yourself and be completely open. He’s not afraid of silences. He wants the silences. He wants the connection. Joachim understands the human condition on another level.” For Fanning, who comes from an artistic family and, like the characters in this movie, has a sibling renowned for her own acting career, taking on this role had a special resonance. As Rachel Kemp digs deeper into the family history that has inspired Gustav’s script, imposter syndrome begins to set in. “I get emotional talking about it because it was a very profound experience for me,” she says. “I think all of us got to put in our personal stories a bit. I’m not an actor who draws from their own personal life, but I think this film is so personal to Joachim and he wants you to share your stories, and molds the character to you after doing rehearsals. You can then add personal things. There were definitely personal things I added in there.”

“A good director is his own personality, and when that personality comes through, it makes art,” says Skarsgård, who has worked with so many renowned filmmakers that it is easy to see the great actor incorporate much of what he has observed into the role of Gustav. The intelligence, the selfishness, the need for control, it’s all there. “They are all control freaks,” he says. “I see directors as a little child who is very lonely and builds their own world and plays with it. In many cases, it’s true. It’s when they learn to let go of total control that they become really good directors. Joachim is controlling everything in the details but he lets the actors go free. It was the same way with Lars von Trier, when after making five films he finally let the actors be more free. Then he had real success.”

“Someone on Letterboxd said it’s a very good movie about how hard it is to get someone to read your script,” says co-writer Eskil Vogt, who has known Trier since they were teenagers, with a hint of jest. “It is about this father-director who tries to get everyone to read his script. But it is a love letter to cinema and creation, and how sometimes you can’t directly express what you need to towards the people that you love. For Stellan’s character this is especially true. It is only through his art that he can communicate with people what he can’t say in real life.” On his friendship with Trier, Vogt says, “It’s a luxury to be so involved in creating a film and handing it to Joachim, who does all the heavy lifting. Luckily, he’s so open and collaborative. We discuss the casting choices together. I only step away from the shooting.”

“I definitely used experiences in my life, including the complexities and love I have for my sisters,” Reinsve says about her own personal journey in making this film. “You can grow up in the same home with someone but it can sometimes not be the same home, sometimes because you’re protected by your sibling or the parents have their own dramas going on.” Her connection with Trier has reached that level where, at times, not much needs to be said. “Our collaboration could sometimes be silent because I know what he wants to express and he knows what’s coming when I get into the scene.” Reinsve admits she is not the kind of actor who can simply switch off whatever personality she is embodying. “I envy actors who can just go home and put it aside. I really do get deep into a process when making a film. The last day on set was like having a weight lifted off my shoulders. I was that deep in, this time. I wish I could leave it when I get home, but I just can’t.”

“Sentimental Value” releases Nov. 7 in select theaters, expanding throughout November.