{"id":167868,"date":"2025-11-30T16:44:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T16:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/167868\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T16:44:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T16:44:08","slug":"renate-reinsve-reveals-how-sentimental-value-brought-family-closer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/167868\/","title":{"rendered":"Renate Reinsve reveals how ‘Sentimental Value’ brought family closer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd can’t connect in ‘Sentimental Value’<\/p>\n

Renate Reinsve and Elle Fanning star in Norway’s Oscar hopeful “Sentimental Value,” from “The Worst Person in the World” filmmaker Joachim Trier.<\/p>\n

NEW YORK \u2212 For Renate Reinsve<\/a>, the spotlight can be a little hard to stomach.<\/p>\n

The Norwegian newcomer broke through in Joachim Trier\u2019s 2021 romantic dramedy \u201cThe Worst Person in the World<\/a>,\u201d winning best actress at Cannes Film Festival for her tour de force as Julie, a flailing twentysomething navigating sex, drugs, career and relationships. It was her first time leading a movie, and the unbridled character was both raw and exposing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt so stupid and ugly, like I was being too honest. I didn\u2019t know how people were going to take it,\u201d Reinsve recalls with a grin, eating a croissant while doing a crossword on a recent morning. \u201cThen all the reviews came out and people related so much to what I felt was so shameful. I just started puking, it was so overwhelming!\u201d<\/p>\n

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All eyes are once again on Reinsve with \u201cSentimental Value<\/a>\u201d (in theaters now<\/a>), a quietly devastating family drama that Oscar pundits<\/a> unanimously predict will earn her a best actress nomination<\/a>. Co-written and directed by Trier, the movie follows a lonely theater actress named Nora (Reinsve), whose estranged filmmaker father, Gustav (Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd), asks her to star in a deeply personal new project.<\/p>\n

Nora is more emotionally guarded than Julie of “Worst Person,” and carries deep resentment and hurt from childhood wounds. We gradually learn that Nora has long struggled with depression, as she withdraws further from Gustav and her protective younger sister, Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas). For Reinsve, 38, it was vital to capture the physicality and detachment of someone retreating inward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of very big, expressive performances of characters struggling with mental health, and I was scared going in another direction, like, \u2018What if this is too invisible?\u2019 \u201d Reinsve says. \u201cShe\u2019s trying all the time to hide. She\u2019ll get attention away from her by being silly, and then she\u2019ll get so far into the depression that everything is just shut down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSentimental Value\u201d marks Reinsve\u2019s third film with Trier after a bit role in 2011\u2019s \u201cOslo, August 31st.\u201d She jokes that they \u201cbring out the melancholy\u201d in one another, and much of this movie was born from their conversations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very safe with Renate,\u201d Trier says. \u201cShe has a very special energy in front of the camera that’s quite unique. We were discovering it as we went along and that’s a sign of trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘Sentimental Value’ star Renate Reinsve nearly quit acting for woodworking<\/p>\n

\u201cSentimental Value\u201d explores the discomfort of what\u2019s left unsaid between parents and their grown kids \u2013 themes that couldn\u2019t be more resonant during the holiday season.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou go back to your family to celebrate and it’s like you magically become 14 again,\u201d Reinsve says. \u201cBut until you\u2019ve had that conversation where you set boundaries and say, \u2018This is me now,\u2019 it will stay the same.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an idea that the amiable actress understands well. She was raised in a remote forest village outside Oslo. While her family worked in her grandfather\u2019s hardware store, she was off making short films with her friends: \u201cWe had this morning news show and we\u2019d play all the weird people from where I grew up,\u201d Reinsve says, laughing.<\/p>\n

She was \u201creally shy\u201d and \u201cexistential,” yet she also had a rebellious streak. By 16, she was kicked out of school and then her home for being a wayward student, and she ran away to Edinburgh, Scotland, in part because \u201cit was the cheapest ticket\u201d she could find.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just went around the streets trying to get a job,\u201d Reinsve recalls. \u201cEventually, the hostel felt so sorry for me that they hired me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She worked the front desk and the bar, \u201cpartying and having a lot of fun\u201d as she also made inroads into the city\u2019s famed Fringe<\/a> performing arts scene. After two years, she moved back to Norway to study acting and do theater, even as she grew frustrated by the \u201csuperficial\u201d TV and film roles she was offered. Before \u201cWorst Person\u201d came along, she considered quitting acting to focus on the family carpentry trade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve now renovated two houses, although I’ve realized I\u2019m not very good at it,\u201d Reinsve acknowledges, smiling. But with hindsight, she sees parallels between \u201cSentimental Value\u201d and her own longing for approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cSubconsciously, Nora becomes an actor to be closer to her dad, even though they can\u2019t really understand each other,\u201d she says. \u201cActing was very alien to my family because it was so different from what they did, working in that hardware store. So I think subconsciously, I wanted to make them proud in a way they could understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ‘profound’ experience of taking her family to Cannes Film Festival<\/p>\n

Reinsve says she was \u201coffered a lot of romantic comedies\u201d after \u201cWorst Person,\u201d but “I didn\u2019t think any of those things were good enough, and I also didn\u2019t want to do something commercial right after.\u201d Instead, she\u2019s primarily focused on indie dark comedies (\u201cA Different Man<\/a>\u201d) and sci-fi horror films (\u201cThe Backrooms<\/a>\u201d).<\/p>\n

She was originally cast in the Julia Garner role in \u201cWeapons,\u201d but was forced to drop out amid scheduling conflicts. (\u201cThat was, of course, sad. I still haven\u2019t seen it, but I\u2019m going to.\u201d)<\/p>\n

When she\u2019s not working, \u201changing out with my son is my favorite activity,\u201d Reinsve says. \u201cThat\u2019s what brings me the most joy. It\u2019s funny, I\u2019m working so much in English and then hanging out with my 6-year-old in Norwegian. So my Norwegian is getting worse while my English is getting better \u2013 I\u2019m between two languages!\u201d<\/p>\n

Right now, the actress is trying to squeeze in rest where she can while promoting \u201cSentimental Value,” and she\u2019s pleased that audiences are responding to it on such a personal level. The movie has even helped bring her family closer, as they joined her at the Cannes Film Festival premiere in May.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was really profound,\u201d Reinsve says. Career-wise, \u201cthey could see how big this thing has gotten that I\u2019ve always wanted to do. Coming from such a small place in Norway, it shouldn\u2019t be possible. But I think for them, getting to be a part of it and see what it was \u2013 some pieces of the puzzle fell into place.\u201d<\/p>\n