Sentimental Value
Absolutely fucking loved this. Watched it 8 hours ago and can’t stop thinking about it. Renate Reinsve is phenomenal as the lead, I haven’t seen Jessie Buckley in Hamnet but I don’t see how she takes the Oscar ahead of this performance she must be incredible. It was subtle yet the sadness her character felt wasn’t only emanating off of her, it was swallowing the scene whole. When we have nothing but a woman sprawled on the floor and the sound of shaking shallow breaths it hits me harder than any breakdown scene. Just a person slowly sliding into a cycle of dispair with no way out.
The craziest thing is, that wasn’t even my favourite performance of the movie. Stellen Skarsgard was dominating in every scene he might be my favourite actor and he still surprised me. A sympathetic yet heavily flawed father. His abuse of alcohol and other drugs act as more of a backdrop into the kind of man he is. So free, so wise yet bound by guilt and stupid choices. Probably my favourite scene was with him and Ellie Fanning doing the final monologue. Ellie, my favourite actor in the movie, manages to perfectly play a brilliant actress performing something flawlessly whilst still being able to show the audience that she’s not right for the role. I was so happy with how kind and understanding her character was, she really made the 2nd act of the film.
The sister Agnes carries the meaning of Borgs film throughout her story. Her reading her mother’s torture at the hands of the Nazis was horrifying in a way that isn’t graphic or explicit, yet leaves you feeling hollow. I thought the last scene with Agnes and Nora (Renate Reinsve) was beautiful. A wave of pure gratitude and love when Nora was at her last drop.
“Why didn’t our childhood ruin you?”
“There’s one major difference in the way we grew up… I had you”