Sentimental Value | Film Review

 

After turning down a part in her estranged father's (Stellan Skarsgård) new movie, Nora (Renate Reinsve) and her sister Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) have to deal with their changing relationship with their father, and the famous American actress (Elle Fanning) he's hired for the role.

I had heard great things about this movie before it was in the Oscar conversation, and those things were only exacerbated after it was nominated, so I was really looking forward to seeing it.

I really liked this movie, but I didn't find it as profound as a lot of other people seemed to.

Because I already knew the main plot, I was eager to get there, and so the beginning of the film felt like it was moving slowly. And while it didn't lose my interest, I did want it to get there a bit quicker.

But in saying that, I was also happy to get the chance to really know these characters. Particularly for Nora as the main character, it was great to really sink deeply into her world.

Though speaking of main characters, I loved that the house itself is one of the main characters of the film. Everything centres on it, it holds a different meaning for each character, and as we go through the years and live with different characters, the house is the only constant.

And I absolutely loved going back in time and learning about the different generations of this family.

The main theme of this movie is the parent-child relationship, and it has a lot to say about it. It really gets into the complexities of this family. We watch the characters figure out what the relationship means to them and we also get the opportunity to interpret this in our own way.

And then there's the sibling relationship, which I absolutely loved. It was probably the best thing about the film.

The characters are really interesting and complex. For some reason, I didn't connect with them the way I wanted to. I liked their relationships, but I didn't really like them, for the most part. And while I didn't need to like them to like their story, I needed to find some point of connection to truly fall in love with the film and I couldn't find it.

I also didn't love all of the performances. Some worked really well in the story, and others just felt a bit stilted in comparison.

So overall I did like this movie, and I'm happy that it's been nominated for a few Oscars, but I didn't love it the way I wanted to, which was a shame.

7.5/10