Sentimental Value (2025) – Beautiful Family Drama, But Not Quite the Masterpiece Everyone Says

Sentimental Value (2025), directed by Joachim Trier, has been called a masterpiece everywhere—Cannes Grand Prix winner, Oscar shortlist, critics losing their minds. I get it: stunning acting, emotional depth, gorgeous script. But for me? It’s really good… just not great. The story grabbed me strong at the start, then let go, grabbed again, let go—too many subplots piling up until I felt a little suffocated. Beautiful movie, strong 8/10, but the hype made me expect perfection and I didn’t quite find it.

Sentimental Value (2025) - The Plot: Father, Daughters, and One Big Comeback Film

Estranged sisters Nora (Renate Reinsve), an Oslo actress, and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) reunite with their famous director father Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård) after years apart. He’s planning his big comeback movie—deeply personal, about their family history—and offers Nora the lead. She turns it down. Next thing, Hollywood star Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) gets the role.

Suddenly everyone’s tangled: old wounds from the parents’ divorce, Gustav becoming a stranger to his girls, his mother’s suicide and Nazi-era imprisonment/torture, plus all the acting-world drama, nepotism, and ego. It’s a lot.

What I Absolutely Loved

• The performances are flawless. Renate Reinsve is raw and real, Stellan Skarsgård heartbreaking as the flawed genius dad, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas quietly powerful, and Elle Fanning perfect as the outsider stirring everything up.
• That one song—I still can’t get it out of my head. Haunts me in the best way.
• The family dynamics feel authentic. The pain of a father who was never there, daughters carrying scars, all that unspoken history—it hits hard.
• Trier’s direction is beautiful. Every shot, every quiet moment, feels deliberate.

Why It Didn’t Feel Like a Masterpiece to Me

Too much in one movie. Intergenerational trauma, divorce fallout, suicide legacy, Nazi history, Hollywood vs. indie acting, nepotism, filmmaking itself—great ideas, but crammed together they made the pacing uneven. I’d get lost in one subplot, then distracted when another took over. Some stretches felt slow, and the main thread got buried under all the layers.

Everyone’s calling it flawless; I just felt… overwhelmed.

Ratings and Critical Reception

• IMDb: 7.9/10 (14,000 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes: 96 % critics (187 reviews) / 95 % audience

Cannes loved it (Grand Prix), Norway sent it to the Oscars (made the shortlist). Critics rave about the emotional weight and performances. My 8/10 is a little cooler than most, but I still think it’s worth seeing.

Final Take: Beautiful, Emotional, Worth Your Time

At 8/10, Sentimental Value is a thoughtful, well-made family drama with incredible acting and moments that stay with you. If you love slow-burn character studies and don’t mind heavy themes, you’ll probably adore it. Just go in without the “masterpiece” pressure—I enjoyed it more once I stopped expecting perfection.

What did you think of Sentimental Value? Did the subplots work for you, or did it feel overloaded too? Drop your thoughts below!

And suggest my next watch—I’m craving more Scandinavian/Norwegian dramas or anything with complicated family vibes.

If this balanced take helped, like, follow, share. See you in the next one!