Pop Culture Happy Hour: “Sentimental Value”

NPR | Aired: November 25, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, the Pop Culture Happy Hour team—Aisha Harris and Stephen Thompson, joined by guest critic Roxana Hadadi—discuss the new film Sentimental Value. The film, starring Stellan Skarsgård and directed by Joachim Trier, delves into the complexities of family, art, and generational trauma as an absentee filmmaker father attempts reconciliation with his estranged daughters through the process of making a new film. The hosts provide a thoughtful critique of the film’s performances, themes, and place within familiar cinematic tropes, with particular attention to its exploration of the tension between art and personal relationships.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Film Summary and Cast

• Overview: Sentimental Value centers on Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård), a renowned filmmaker who casts his estranged daughter Nora (Renata Reinsve) in his latest project, only to face rejection. The film explores the dynamics between Gustav, Nora, and his other daughter, Agnes (Inga Ebsdotter Lilios), alongside an American actress Rachel (Elle Fanning) brought into the fold.
• Director: Joachim Trier (previously collaborated with Reinsve).
• Metaphor: The family home with a literal crack in the wall as a symbol of familial fracture.
  • Stephen (03:27): "There's this central metaphor about this house where this family kind of grew up and how it is figuratively and literally a broken home."

2. Performances and Collaborative Art

• Renata Reinsve and Inga Ebsdotter Lilios:
  • Both hosts praise Inga’s "contained and powerful" performance.
  • Stephen (04:56): "To me, she just jumped off the screen and that is such a contained and powerful performance."
• Elle Fanning:
  • Aisha appreciates how Fanning’s character is explored beyond the archetype of a glitzy Hollywood actress.
  • Aisha (08:33): "For me, Elle Fanning was actually one of my favorite parts of this film...there's a whole subplot of her trying to be molded by Gustav. And it is very Vertigo."
• Ensemble and Direction:
  • The film’s focus on the nuances of actor-director relationships and the 'nitty gritty' of creative collaboration, avoiding simplistic depictions of the artistic process.
  • Stephen (10:15): "Making art is a thing that is really hard to capture on film...the artistic process is not the work of a lone genius. It’s the product of collaboration."

3. Themes: Art, Family, and Ownership of Narrative

• Art vs. Family:
  • The panel explores Gustav’s justification for his familial absence ("Art had to come first").
  • Roxana notes the film’s realistic attention to a creator's fraught relationship with their loved ones.
  • Roxana (05:44): "[Gustav's] like, yeah, my family was second. Like, it had to be second because I had to make art."
• Autobiographical Art and Consent:
  • The film raises complex questions about using real-life family experiences as art.
  • Roxana (11:10): "Who owns your personal experience? Especially when...it overlaps with other people."
  • Example: The existential conversation between Nora and Rachel about working with a father who mines their real pain for his art.
• Generational Trauma and Gender:
  • The dynamic between “fathers and daughters” is contextualized in broader pop culture.
  • Recent boom of “workaholic dad seeks reconciliation” narratives, but Sentimental Value focuses more deeply on the daughters' perspectives.
  • Stephen (15:36): "One thing this film gets right...this movie cares very deeply about the interior lives of the daughters."

4. Meta and Cinematic Commentary

• Changing Tropes:
  • Hosts note the evolution from the ‘90s “workaholic dad learns lesson” into more thoughtful, nuanced explorations (e.g., Hook vs. Sentimental Value).
  • Compare with upcoming Baumbach film "JAKE ELLY" starring George Clooney (noted as more about celebrity than about artistic legacy).
• Hierarchies of Art:
  • Gustav’s condescension toward television and stage acting mirrors real-world artistic snobbery.
  • Roxana (12:36): "He insults television, which, of course, a film director would do, and he...discredits that Nora has become a celebrated stage actor."

5. Ending: Satisfying or Too Tidy?

• Mixed Reactions:
  • Aisha felt the ending was a bit "tidy," skipping some emotional beats (16:20), though it didn’t ruin the experience.
  • Roxana found inevitability and meta-layer in the casting and the resolution, reflecting both the director’s and actor’s personal realities.
  • Stephen appreciated that it didn’t “biff the ending,” even if it stood out for its neatness in a film that embraced messiness elsewhere.
  • Aisha (16:48): "It's like the last few minutes, I did feel a little bit let down by how kind of tidy it all felt. Not perfect, but just tidy."
  • Roxana (16:59): "I sort of felt like the ending was inevitable...it again aligned with life in sort of like a peculiar sentimental way."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Stephen Thompson [03:27]:
  "There's this central metaphor about this house where this family kind of grew up and how it is figuratively and literally a broken home."

• Roxana Hadadi [05:44]:
  "I love when [Stellan Skarsgård] sort of plays this, like, very defensive in his bad decisions kind of figure. Like, I think that's great."

• Aisha Harris [08:33]:
  "What I loved about that dynamic is that while that's happening and he's dealing with his not being a good father, [Elle Fanning’s character] is trying to figure out, like, where do I fit in? ...and maybe realizing maybe this isn't right for me."

• Stephen Thompson [10:15]:
  "Making art is a thing that is really hard to capture on film."

• Roxana Hadadi [11:10]:
  "Who owns your personal experience? Especially when your personal experience, like, overlaps with other people...there's this like wonderful scene where the characters of Nora and Rachel meet."

• Stephen Thompson [15:36]:
  "This movie cares very deeply about the interior lives of the daughters. And...the dad is a little bit more of an ephemeral, mercurial presence."

• Aisha Harris [16:48]:
  "I did feel a little bit let down by how kind of tidy it all felt. Not perfect, but just tidy."

Important Timestamps

• [02:30] - Guest introductions & film summary
• [03:27 - 05:12] - Praise for performances, analysis of the house metaphor, introduction of key characters
• [05:44 - 08:24] - Roxana on Stellan Skarsgård’s performance; artistic vs. family tension
• [08:33 - 10:34] - Elle Fanning's role and depiction of the creative process
• [11:10 - 12:58] - Autobiographical art, ownership of story, and hierarchy of art forms
• [13:08 - 15:36] - Discussion of family/artist narratives in film; comparison to other movies
• [16:17 - 17:50] - Reactions to the film’s conclusion; thoughts on “tidiness” in endings
• [19:00 - end] - Final recommendations ("it’ll at least make you sniffle maybe"), closing jokes about crying in movies

Tone and Takeaways

The episode is warm, conversational, and insightful, balancing both critical thought and appreciation for the film’s ambition and performances. The hosts note Sentimental Value’s achievements in realistically exploring the messy intersections of creativity and family while poking fun at worn-out tropes and celebrating the quality of the performances, especially by the female cast.

Recommendation: The team enthusiastically endorses Sentimental Value as a moving, nuanced drama about familial reconciliation, artistic legacy, and the challenges of turning life into art—even if the final scenes feel a bit too neat.

"Well, I think we all really dug this and think people should absolutely see this film." – Aisha Harris [19:00]

Find more from the hosts:
Facebook: facebook.com/PCHH
Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/nprpopculture