Sentimental Value Movie Review (2025)
A subtle and emotionally layered film about an absent film director father and his estranged daughters, Sentimental Value is extraordinarily styled and deeply personal.
When I notice that Stellan Skarsgård is in a film, I am immediately interested. Whether it’s Good Will Hunting, Mamma Mia!, or Angels & Demons, he is an actor who leaves an impression. I find that I have an inherent affection for him, even though I’ve never met the man. But I enjoy spending time with him on screen, so no matter what the vehicle, chances are, I’m buying a ticket.
Sentimental Value is about sisters Nora and Agnes, whose mother has just passed away. The house in which their mother has lived has been owned for generations by their father’s family, and their estranged father appears after the funeral. He had a successful film-directing career years ago and is hoping to stage his comeback film in the house. Rising actress Nora wants nothing to do with her father or his movie, but both women must figure out how to deal with him suddenly being around.
This is a very special film. I really enjoyed watching it, but the more I’ve reflected on it, the more that has come to light. It is incredibly intimate, so you aren’t always aware of what you are experiencing en masse until, slowly, it hits you.
You meet various characters, but one of the most haunting and present at all times is the house itself. The film begins with the story of the house and the people who have lived in it. The house holds the memories, trauma, and joy of its inhabitants, and as much as the Sentimental Value is about two daughters and their father, their story is just a small piece of what the house has experienced.
Within the house, each generation has had its own history. Some of those events are unique to their own time, and some get repeated, but most go unspoken.
Visually, Sentimental Value is stunning. Between the performances on stage, on screen, and interactions between the characters, there are private human moments that are followed by faces melding together or scenes that starkly cut to black. There is no music or transition – it is as if you’re watching a film that’s not quite finished yet. Or maybe it is.
The entire cast is excellent, but the standouts are Stellan Skarsgård as the father and Renate Reinsve as Nora. They are two sides of the same coin, but have no way of connecting to each other. Both performances are protective and outwardly understated, but incapable of fully shielding the pain that seeps through the cracks in their exteriors.
Sentimental Value quietly explores an unarticulated family history and trauma, full of stifled feelings that can only fully be expressed on the stage or through a camera. In a house that is observing and with people trying to fill the void with willing but unsatisfactory substitutes, this is a movie you have to watch.
Runtime: 133 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: R
Languages Spoken In The Film: English, Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish with English subtitles
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? I did not
My Rating: 5/5 Stars
Available: To rent on Prime Video or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
