--- title: "Sentimental Value: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/sentimental-value/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/sentimental-value" critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 16 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Sentimental Value (2025): what the critics said Critics' score 82 from 16 reviews: 15 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics agree on where the strength lies: in Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve as an estranged filmmaker father and his actress daughter, whose performances nearly every review singles out, and in the family house, which several critics treat as the film’s real centre. The reviews are warm and the spread is narrow, with fifteen positive notices, one mixed and none negative. Joachim Trier’s handling of family trauma, sisterhood and the uses of art draws steady praise, as does the wit of the dialogue. The reservations are quiet and consistent rather than sharp. The New Yorker finds it sedate and too neatly arranged, and doubts its faith that making art will heal a family; The AV Club, while positive, thinks it cold and distant. Collider calls it uneven, with a slow start and a stray argument about cinema versus streaming. A few British critics judge it good rather than great, tidier and less messy than Trier’s earlier work. ## The Times — Tom Shone Rating 5/5. 3 January 2026. Joachim Trier’s film performs the magic trick of making one family’s secrets and memories feel universal, like a modern Hannah and Her Sisters with gossipy warmth and powerful underplayed emotion. It combines the satisfactions of arthouse filmmaking with the emotional wallop of great melodrama, thanks to invisible acting and Trier’s springy, playful handling of heavy themes. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/this-five-star-movie-is-like-a-woody-allen-film-only-without-the-guilt-qsf75gs2s) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2025. The critic hails it as sublime, praising its exploration of family dynamics and the performances, especially Reinsve and Skarsgård, and the house as a central element. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-the-sublime-sentimental-value-is-the-toast-of-cannes.html) ## Empire — Emily Maskell Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 2025. The critic highlights the strong showcase for Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård, along with Trier’s insightful handling of sisterhood, trauma, and the meta relationship between cinema and reality. It calls the film a moving drama that lingers, despite occasional over-sentimentality. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/sentimental-value/) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 6 November 2025. The critic finds Joachim Trier’s drama a moving portrait of a family haunted by the past, centered on an estranged filmmaker father and his actress daughter. It highlights the beautifully synced performances of Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve as difficult but charismatic figures whose story becomes one of love. [Read the review](https://nytimes.com/2025/11/06/movies/sentimental-value-review-joachim-trier.html) ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Rating 4/4/4. 22 December 2025. Trier’s latest is moving in moments with sharp, quick-witted dialogue and offers insights into parental and sibling relationships, though it is very good rather than great compared to his earlier work. Skarsgård excels as a father unable to express himself except through his art. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/sentimental-value) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 18 December 2025. The review praises the delicate performances, particularly from Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve, in exploring generational trauma and the tug between art and family. It notes the film is somewhat cleaner and less messy than Trier’s earlier work but still argues effectively for honest expression through cinema. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/sentimental-value-review-uk-release-date-b2884880.html) ## Time Out — Christina Newland Rating 4/5. 3 December 2025. Trier’s sensitive sisterhood drama mines the psyches of two sisters dealing with their estranged, egotistical filmmaker father and delivers a nuanced, poignant portrait of family love and strife through excellent performances. It is thoughtful and moving, better than group therapy. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/sentimental-value-review-2025) ## The AV Club — Brianna Zigler Rating B. 6 October 2025. The review finds the film affecting with strong performances, particularly Skarsgård, but notes it feels somewhat cold and distant despite its themes of trauma and family. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/sentimental-value-review) ## The New Yorker — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2025. The review praises the impeccably crafted film and strong performances, especially from Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård, but finds it overly sedate and diagrammatic rather than fully emotionally engaging. It notes Trier’s restraint but criticizes the assumption that art will automatically heal family wounds. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/17/sentimental-value-movie-review-jay-kelly) ## Screen Daily 21 May 2025. Festival review. Trier’s sensitive sixth feature reunites him with Reinsve in a nuanced story of an actress daughter and her director father exploring family roles and the silences between parents and children. The leads bring incredible tenderness to this smart, thoughtful tearjerker that is far from mawkish. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/sentimental-value-review-renate-reinsve-and-joachim-trier-reunite-for-moving-family-drama/5205383.article) ## Sight and Sound 24 May 2025. Festival review. Trier’s follow-up to The Worst Person in the World is a gorgeous, generous drama in which an egotistical director tries to reconnect with his estranged daughters by casting one in his autobiographical film. Strong performances, especially from Skarsgård and Reinsve, ground its meditation on inherited family suffering and the limits of art. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/sentimental-value-egotistical-director-tries-reconnect-with-his-family-through-cinema-joachim-triers-gorgeous-drama) ## The Guardian 21 May 2025. Festival review. Joachim Trier’s exuberant drama follows an ageing egomaniac film director (Stellan Skarsgård) who returns to disrupt his estranged adult daughters’ lives while attempting a late-career comeback using the family home for a semi-autobiographical film. The critic finds it a baggy, self-aware comedy with cinephile in-jokes and emotional vampirism that ultimately delivers some real sentimentality and value despite its indulgences. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/21/sentimental-value-review-cannes) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney 21 May 2025. Festival review. The critic praises the film's emotional depth and exploration of family and memory, singling out the performances and the house as a repository of history for praise. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/sentimental-value-review-renate-reinsve-joachim-trier-1236223376/) ## The Telegraph 26 December 2025. Stellan Skarsgård gives one of his best performances as a difficult, curmudgeonly filmmaker attempting to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Renate Reinsve) through a passion project about family trauma. The nimble, witty screenplay and strong ensemble allow the film to flow ravishingly through complex emotional terrain involving art, family psychology and the therapeutic value of creation. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/sentimental-value-review-stellan-skarsgard/) ## Variety — Peter Debruge 21 May 2025. Festival review. The critic calls the film a resonant, mature family drama that uses a beautiful old house as a metaphor for healing and reconciliation through art. It singles out the layered dynamics between the sisters and the strong ensemble, including Elle Fanning, as a highlight of Trier’s work. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/sentimental-value-review-aafeksjonsverdi-1236405810/) ## The Playlist — Gregory Ellwood Rating A-. 21 May 2025. Festival review. Praises the stellar performances by Reinsve and Skarsgård in Trier's sublime generational drama, noting the humanist moments and brilliant hopeful ending that resolves the family's trauma. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/sentimental-value-review-renate-reinsve-stellan-skarsgard-are-stellar-in-joachim-triers-sublime-generational-drama-cannes-20250521) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2025. Festival review. Trier has made his best film yet, a subtle yet sweeping tapestry of art and family that takes the breath away with its emotional gut punches and reflections on creating art from life. Outstanding performances, especially from Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård, support the focused exploration of family and cinema. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/sentimental-value-review-joachim-trier-renate-reinsve/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2025. Festival review. The critic praises the film's meditative quality and satisfying conclusion that captures human truth without being overly sentimental. Standout performances are highlighted, especially Stellan Skarsgård's as the estranged father. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2025/05/sentimental-value-review-joachim-trier-1236406716/) ## Den of Geek — Joe George Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 22 January 2026. The film stands out for its quiet, personal approach to family strife and the making of a movie, excelling through subtle conversations and character dynamics rather than big dramatic moments or spectacle. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/sentimental-value-quiet-best-picture-nom-deserves-attention/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2025. The critic praises Trier's ability to handle intellectual ideas naturally in a textured drama about family roles and generational trauma, highlighting the strong performances especially from the cast in exploring emotional ambiguity and sibling bonds. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/sentimental-value-2025-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## The Skinny — Stefania Sarrubba Rating ★★★★. 15 December 2025. Trier’s most expansive film to date is a poignant exploration of fractured families and generational baggage centered on a single house; Reinsve’s raw performance captures bubbling resentment with devastating honesty. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/sentimental-value-review) ## Collider — Therese Lacson Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2025. Festival review. The critic finds the family drama compelling and praises the performances, especially Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve, but notes the film is uneven due to extraneous commentary on film vs. streaming and a slow start. [Read the review](https://collider.com/sentimental-value-review-stellan-skarsgard-elle-fanning) ## Paste — Jason Gorber Rating 8.0. 22 May 2025. Festival review. The critic praises the emotional depth, powerful acting especially by Renate Reinsve, and Trier's handling of family trauma and reconciliation through art, calling it unabashedly sentimental yet effective. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/joachim-trier/sentimental-value-movie-review-renate-reinsve-joachim-trier-elle-fanning-plot-emotion-cannes) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/sentimental-value.md