“It’s a beautiful story exploring the chaos of being human”: the cast of Sentimental Value talk about Joachim Triers’ new film

Three years on, I still find myself thinking about The Worst Person In The World at least once a month. It’s a gorgeous piece of cinema, focusing on one woman’s struggle to find her career path while navigating a troubled love life and attempting to figure out who she really is. The film was written and directed by Joachim Trier, and now he’s back with a new film, Sentimental Value, an equally gorgeous and emotional story.

Starring Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Anders Danielsen Lie, Sentimental Value tells the story of sisters Nora and Agnes, who reunite with their estranged father, Gustav, a once-renowned director. During their reunion, he offers stage actor Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. When Nora turns it down, she discovers he has given her part to an eager young Hollywood star, Rachel. Suddenly, the two sisters must navigate their complicated relationship with their father, as well as deal with a film star who has been dropped right into the middle of their complex family dynamics.

Below, Sentimental Value’s leading women sit down with Stylist to talk about portraying complex characters like Nora, Agnes and Rachel and the experience of working on a Joachim Trier project.

What was it about your characters that initially drew you to the film?

Renate: We were all drawn in by Joachim. He always writes really interesting characters and has such a keen interest in exploring the chaos of being human in this world. It feels like he doesn’t judge anyone; he doesn’t judge how you show up on set. It’s a great place to exist within and explore stories together.

Elle: Joachim is really the key to everything. I don’t think I’ve ever played an actor, which is very meta. But I was excited about the challenge of it, and toeing the line between making Rachel a believable movie star, without going into a vapid, cliched version of the character. I wanted her to be a three-dimensional, flawed person. She’s thrust into a situation where she’s among a family drama that she didn’t ask to be a part of. I’m ultimately playing someone who is miscast for the role, which was very fun. It’s such a beautiful story.

Inga: I was really drawn to the sister relationship and the dynamic between Nora and Agnes, as well as the dynamic between the children and their father. It’s really interesting to dive into it all and try to find and focus on those little conflicts between the sisters. It’s the little things that tell the story of their relationship through time: they love each other so much, but they can’t always be completely there for each other, because they’re different and have different needs.

Do Joachim’s film sets feel different to those of other directors, in the way that he works?

Elle: It feels completely different. I don’t know if I’ve ever been on a set before where I’m trying to figure out in real time what is making the set run so perfectly. Many days on set, I’d find myself asking that question. It’s all very professional, but there’s a spontaneity that Joachim is very open to, and wants everyone to have as well. He’s a director who sits next to the camera and watches you during takes, and it feels like he’s really seeing you. He’s very much like a therapist; there’s something he can see in you and your work.

Renate, you’ve worked with Joachim before. Did this project feel different to those previous roles?

Renate: In a lot of ways it felt quite different, because of the character. Julie in The Worst Person In The World was more naïve and open, and hadn’t really made any choices – and that was what she was struggling with. But Nora is very set in her life. She carries so much emotional weight that she doesn’t know where it comes from. It’s as if a sorrow has been passed through generations, and she doesn’t know how to communicate or process those emotions. So yes, it was a different experience and set, but a similar style of working with Joachim.

And Inga, Agnes is often a witness or a mediator between Nora and their father. What do you think Agnes hopes for and what does she fear, especially as the story goes on?

Inga: Growing up, Agnes had a protector in her sister, and I think, throughout the film, she realises that because she had her sister, she was able to become a safer, more secure person in adulthood. However, her sister has not had the same thing. So, it shifts a little. Agnes becomes her sister’s protector through the difficult moments in Nora’s life. Agnes also realises how she’s been traumatised by their father, especially when Gustav wants Agnes’s son to be involved in his new film.

Of course, she wants to be with her father, wants his attention, and she would have done anything for him to become a great actor – because it’s him. And then he leaves, and she’s given everything to him. I think that’s been a bigger thing than she realises, and she’s able to stand up for him, for herself and, eventually, for her sister and her son.

Elle, how did it feel entering into a family dynamic where you’re the outsider Was that harder or more freeing for you?

Elle: It was mirroring Rachel’s exact experience, which was fascinating. Yes, I’m an outsider (I don’t speak Norwegian), but I never felt like an outsider on set. Joachim was so welcoming to me. Working on a set in a different language was such a new experience and not something I’m used to. Normally, I’m eavesdropping on conversations while on set, trying to figure out what people want and mean. But when you can’t do that because you don’t understand the language, it gave me tunnel vision of sorts and really helped with forming Rachel.

She’s definitely the outsider, but also a catalyst for so much of the story. She finds herself confused, asking questions, like “What am I supposed to be here?” Gustav has given her this beautiful gift, of seeing her for her talent. So, she’s dealing with this struggle of actually feeling worthy for the first time in a long time in her life and feeling like he has been able to draw something out of her that has been dormant for a long time. But at the same time, she knows it’s not the right thing, to do the film, and she has to make this big decision for both her career and herself.

Was there a particular scene that made you understand your character either more deeply or differently?

Renate: There’s a scene that’s not in the film anymore, and that was Nora on the boat home from the island after Jakob has rejected her, and that’s when the process starts to get dark. I really understood how Nora kind of slides down into a darkness from rejection and from having tried to keep that relationship at a distance, to not be so involved, so she won’t get hurt and spiral down. And then it happens anyway. I really understood her that day.

Elle: The monologue scene that Rachel has in the film really resonated with me. She’s acting, she’s performing, but the emotion is real and her desire for a home shines through. And that’s what I attached to it because that’s something that I could personally relate to as an actor. It’s not specific or literal, but the life of an actor can feel circus-like at times, so you want authenticity to feel settled and grounded. And that’s the feeling that clicked for me in playing Rachel.

Inga: The scene where Agnes confronts her father was really important for me. Gustav comes in and has just decided that her son is going to be in the film, and she realises that she’s been suppressing something for a long time. And it’s that emotional release where I felt I understood why she is the way she is, why she needs the family to be together and why she feels responsible.

What is one thing that you learned from each other?

Renate: I really like touring now with these two women. Elle is very funny and whimsical. It feels like something will always happen on the red carpet or in interviews, and we’re always laughing. I feel that the grounding effect that Inga has on our group dynamic is so important, and it will keep us sane this whole press tour, I’m sure.

Images: Mubi