Podcast Summary: All Of It with Alison Stewart

Episode: Renate Reinsve Stars in 'Sentimental Value'
Date: November 10, 2025
Host: Alison Stewart (A)
Guest: Renate Reinsve (B), Norwegian actor

Overview

This episode centers on Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve and her lead role in the film Sentimental Value. Through an intimate conversation with host Alison Stewart, Reinsve explores the movie’s nuanced exploration of family dynamics, especially the fraught relationship between her character, Nora, a Norwegian actress, and her estranged, famous filmmaker father. The discussion delves deeply into themes of inheritance, emotional legacy, creative collaboration, and sisterhood.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Family Home as a Living Character

[02:06] The film begins with a tour of the family home, which is both a setting and a character:
- The house "shows how time passes and ... holds information about all these families that has lived there" (B, 02:13).
- To Nora, the house is uncomfortable, representing her traumatic childhood: “She really didn’t have a good time. They grew up in a very aggressive home.” (B, 02:59)
- In contrast, the actress who plays Nora’s sister felt deeply attached to the home, underlining how personal history colors memory.

Nora’s Character and Emotional Struggles

Opening Breakdown Scene
- Nora is introduced on the verge of panic before a stage performance, resisting vulnerability:
- “She is struggling to be present in her life. But on stage, she can really go into what she’s carrying.” (B, 04:36)
- “I love playing a good panic scene. It was a lot of fun playing that scene.” (B, 05:32)
On Stage Fright and Empathy
- Reinsve relates: “I get really scared, but I kind of know how to facilitate it in a way ... I panic of other things, but let’s not go into that.” (B, 06:15)
- Observing another actress’ panic provided inspiration for the role.

Motivation for Acting

Nora’s acting is fueled by a subconscious desire for connection with her father:
- “I think ... she wants to be a part of her father’s life... the only place he can be present and ... communicate ... is when he’s directing.” (B, 07:13)
- Yet, her anger and grief make genuine collaboration impossible.

Family Relationships & Sibling Perspectives

Agnes, the sister, experienced her father’s attention briefly as a child actor but suffered when it ended:
- “She had never felt so seen and so taken care of. But when production stopped, it was back to normal.” (B, 08:14)
- The sisters’ different experiences highlight the variety of ways siblings reckon with the same family trauma.

On Working with Stellan Skarsgård (Father, Gustav)

Casting & Performance
- Skarsgård was chosen for his ability to add warmth to a character written as increasingly harsh:
  - “They really needed to cast someone who was a nice person.” (B, 08:46)
  - “He plays someone who really thinks he is a good person. And he is, but he’s so clumsy.” (B, 09:47)
Key Scene:
- A silent cigarette moment between Nora and her father conveys their complicated bond:
  - “You see them being so happy together ... that they admire each other ... it’s the only place you really see them ... it’s kind of the love scene between them.” (B, 11:00-11:24)

Turning Point: The Diner Script Scene

Her father asks Nora to act in his new film, but undermines her past work:
- “He presents that [the script] by criticizing all her choices so far … she feels so worthless just by him not having the respect to even discuss it with her.” (B, 11:48)
- Nora decides they “cannot talk” and walks away, refusing to read the script.

Elle Fanning’s Character and Father’s Projections

Gustav casts American star Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) in Nora’s role, which triggers complex feelings in Nora:
- “She knows the actress is getting the treatment ... that she can’t have in real life.” (B, 13:01)
- “Nora is a good person ... she’s being big in that moment, but she is, of course, jealous.” (B, 13:56)
Notable visual parallel: Rachel dyes her hair to resemble Nora, symbolizing the father’s attempts to recreate his lost familial connection:
- “Gustav is also projecting the relationship he wants with his daughters to the role, and he really wants Nora to do the character.” (B, 14:27)

Language and Performance

The film moves fluidly between English and Norwegian:
- “Of course you get a different sense of depth when you speak in your own language ... I could always be myself just struggling a bit with the words.” (B, 15:21)

Creative Collaboration with Joachim Trier

On Character-Driven Storytelling and Ensemble Process:
- “He writes characters that are so interesting, and his movies are character driven ... It’s such a pool of just artistic joy working with him.” (B, 16:26)
- Trier’s meticulous planning allows space for improvisation:
  - “Everyone has an ideal version of the scene ... because it’s so structured we can be really flexible with improvising.” (B, 17:41)
Comparing Process to Jazz:
- “He even calls some takes jazz takes. He really wants his movies to be like an album that you want to listen to again and again.” (B, 18:46)

Sisters and Contrasting Coping Strategies

Nora and Agnes each navigate trauma differently:
- “Siblings can grow up in the same home and then have a totally different experience ... Agnes ... had Nora to protect her ... Nora ... struggles to make healthy choices ... so dependent on her sister.” (B, 19:30–20:46)

Mental Health and Avoidance

Nora refuses therapy out of fear:
- “She’s really scared of what she’ll find ... if she digs into it just a little bit, it might all fall apart.” (B, 20:57)
- Her only safe connection is with Agnes, her sister.

On Rehearsal and Script Development

Trier’s rehearsal process is collaborative and adaptive:
- “He films the rehearsals so that he can alter the script together with Eskild Vogt.” (B, 22:44)
- This creates a sense of ownership for the entire cast.

The Film’s Tone: Sadness and Hope

Despite its melancholy, the film offers hope:
- “There is so much hope in the complexity of how it ends and how those relationships are seen in the end of the movie.” (B, 23:42)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the film’s defining scene of connection:
“That scene in some way, is really kind of the love scene between them. And you see the relationship.” — Renate Reinsve, [11:00]
On the collaborative filmmaking process:
“It really feels like a collective ... the whole room is improvising together.” — Renate Reinsve, [18:00]
On working with director Joachim Trier:
“It’s never about us. It’s about the project. It’s about the scene. It’s about something.” — Renate Reinsve, [16:26]
On the complexity of the father-daughter relationship:
“He plays someone who really thinks he is a good person. And he is, but he’s so clumsy and he just doesn’t know how to be good with his daughters.” — Renate Reinsve, [09:47]
On trauma and avoidance:
“She’s really scared of what she’ll find ... if she digs into it just a little bit, it might just all fall apart.” — Renate Reinsve, [20:57]
On the film’s hopeful ending:
“There is so much hope in the complexity of how it ends and how those relationships are seen in the end of the movie.” — Renate Reinsve, [23:42]

Timestamps for Important Segments

[02:06] — The significance of the family home and its atmosphere
[04:15] — Nora’s opening panic and what it reveals
[07:09] — Nora’s motivations for becoming an actor
[08:36] — Stellan Skarsgård as Gustav and his contribution
[11:00] — Key moment of connection between Nora and Gustav
[11:48] — The confrontation over the script at the diner
[13:01] — How Nora reacts when replaced by Elle Fanning’s character
[14:21] — Discussion of the visual mirroring between Nora and Rachel
[15:09] — Bilingual production and its impact on acting
[16:26] — Working with director Joachim Trier
[19:25] — The dynamics between sisters Nora and Agnes
[20:57] — Nora’s mental health and avoidance of therapy
[21:56] — Joachim Trier’s distinctive rehearsal methods
[23:42] — The hopeful message of the film’s ending

Conclusion

Renate Reinsve’s thoughtful reflections on her character and the collaborative process behind Sentimental Value illuminate the film’s rich emotional terrain. The episode offers both a behind-the-scenes look at the artistic process and a probing discussion of how art reflects—and refracts—our deepest familial conflicts and desires for connection. Director Joachim Trier’s approach and the strong performances by the cast, notably Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning, emerge as central to the film’s layered impact. Despite its explorations of pain and estrangement, Reinsve emphasizes Sentimental Value’s ultimate message of hope and the enduring, if complicated, bonds of family.