A new drama film is coming to cinemas this Boxing Day, and it is already being hailed by the critics. Sentimental Value is a poignant exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art.
The film stars BAFTA-nominee Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World, A Different Man), BAFTA and Golden Globe-nominee Stellan Skarsgård (Dune: Part One & Two, Hope), Golden Globe and EMMY-nominee Elle Fanning (A Complete Unknown, All The Bright Places), breakout star Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (A Beautiful Life, In Oversized Men’s Shirts), and Anders Danielsen Lie (The Worst Person in the World, Personal Shopper). The film is directed and co-written by Joachim Trier, and longtime collaborator and Oscar nominee Eskil Vogt (The Innocents, The Worst Person in the World).
The film’s plot reads: “Reinsve plays Nora, a successful stage actress who, along with her sister Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), reunites with their estranged father Gustav Borg (Skarsgård) – a once-renowned film director planning a major comeback with a script based on his family. When Gustav offers Nora the lead role, which she promptly declines, he turns his attention to Rachel Kemp (Fanning), an eager young Hollywood starlet primed for her big breakthrough. With their fraught dynamics made even more complex, Nora, Agnes and Gustav are each forced to confront their difficult pasts.”
Following Trier’s tender, sharply funny and critically acclaimed The Worst Person in the World, which earned Renate Reinsve the Best Actress Award at Cannes in 2021, Sentimental Value received its World Premiere in the Main Competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. The film received widespread acclaim and was awarded the Grand Prix, cementing Trier’s reputation as one of contemporary cinema’s most distinctive voices. Sentimental Value received its UK premiere at last month’s BFI London Film Festival.
The Daily Telegraph awarded the film five stars and said: “A tremendous follow-up to Trier’s 2021 international breakthrough hit The Worst Person in the World.”
“A masterpiece… Everything contemporary cinema ought to be,” added British Vogue.
Elle said: “A heart-swelling and unexpectedly humour-filled tale that will break you before it makes you whole again.”
Sentimental Value is showing in UK cinemas from December 26.
