Family Ties and Haunted Walls: Sentimental Value’s Unruly Heart

Sentimental Value isn’t just a story about relatives; it’s a tale where a house is as much a character as any of the people living in it. In Joachim Trier’s latest work, the Borg family’s Oslo residence is steeped in history, having weathered war, loss, and generations of drama. The place feels almost alive, carrying the weight of everything that’s happened within its walls.

The film centres on Nora, a stage performer, and her sister Agnes, a historian. Both have kept their distance from their dad, Gustav Borg, a celebrated director who left Norway years ago after splitting from their mum. He reappears at their mother’s funeral, keen on two things: reclaiming the family home and offering Nora a role in his new project.

Estrangement and Unfinished Business

Gustav’s latest film draws directly from his own family’s past, with plans to shoot it in the very house where he grew up. The script, which ends with his mother’s suicide, has a part written for Nora. She’s not interested, refusing to even look at the script, still stung by their rocky relationship. Gustav then turns to Rachel Kemp, a Hollywood star whose career has hit a rough patch, and her involvement helps secure a deal with Netflix.

Gustav hasn’t made anything in over a decade, and Rachel’s last project was a flop. They meet at a French festival afterparty, and despite their differences, they hit it off. Elle Fanning, who plays Rachel, reckons their shared background as child actors gave them a “mutual understanding.” She says,

“Gustav sees something in [Rachel] that ignites this light in her again. She’s felt a bit lost, and so having him see her, and feel like he really sees her, and then to ultimately give her this opportunity, it’s a beautiful thing. And I think he’s much more open to Rachel than he is with his own daughters.”

Clumsy Connections and Generational Gaps

Stellan Skarsgård, who plays Gustav, sees his character as someone who’s brilliant at expressing emotion through his art but hopeless when it comes to real life.

“He is capable of feelings, and he’s capable of expressing feelings. He’s excellent at it in his art, but he’s clumsy in his personal life, and it’s funny to see him trying. It’s comic, and it’s tragic at the same time. It’s very funny, but you also feel that he really wants to do it, but he can’t, and that’s the key to him.”

One scene sums this up: at his grandson Erik’s birthday, Gustav gifts the nine-year-old a DVD of Michael Haneke’s The Piano Teacher. Agnes, confused, points out, “We don’t even have a DVD player.” It’s a sharp, bittersweet moment showing Gustav’s disconnect not just from his family, but from the industry he once ruled.

Skarsgård adds,

“In spite of being the same age as me, he’s of an older generation, and he’s a 20th-century man. It’s like the interview discussion when he gets the question, ‘Will the film be shown in the cinemas?’ ‘Of course, where else would it be shown?’ He doesn’t quite get that Netflix might not show it.”

Art Imitates Life

There’s a real sense of life bleeding into art throughout Sentimental Value. Fanning, an American actor in a Norwegian film, found herself relating to her character’s outsider status.

“There were aspects and scenes that I could understand very, very well, and were happening in real time around me. So you can’t help but acknowledge and take that in,”

she says. She enjoyed the challenge of making Rachel more than a Hollywood stereotype, crediting Trier for wanting layered, complex characters.

The house itself is almost a co-star. Fanning notes that Trier “had to audition many houses” to find the right one, and for her, it felt like a “very special space.” Rachel, caught in the middle of the Borg family’s unresolved issues, becomes a catalyst for change, even if she doesn’t fully grasp the cost of her involvement. The home’s haunted atmosphere lingers, but Rachel’s presence helps break down its walls, as Gustav’s film tries to make sense of old wounds.

Sentimental Value is now screening in UK cinemas.