Robert Kojder chats with Sentimental Value stars Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas…
Re-teaming with the writing/directing team of Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt on Sentimental Value, a layered and moving film about family and art, particularly sisterhood and the relations between a father and his daughters, Renate Reinsve is once again outstanding at playing Nora, another messy individual. This time, she is joined by impressive relative newcomer Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, playing Agnes, the sister who more or less has her life together.
When their estranged filmmaker father returns to their family home upon the death of their mom and his ex-wife, it stirs many emotions that only become further complicated when he reveals that he wants to make a therapeutic movie about a family tragedy that took place in the home, whilst also shooting there. Having already put Agnes in one of his films when she was a child, only to eventually drift apart, this time, Gustav has his heart set on Nora playing his mother.
Naturally, these are heavy roles for everyone to dig into, and it was a pleasure to talk to Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas about sisterhood, shaping their characters, triggering family members, and working with Joachim Trier. Enjoy the interview below:
Hi, it’s lovely to meet both of you. You’re both incredible in this movie, and it’s very moving.
Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas: Thank you!
So, Renate, I read that Jochim communicated with you as he wrote the script. Can you talk about what that was and whether you helped shape any part of your character?
RR: Not in the writing process, that’s the sacred room of Eskil and Joachim, we all want to be a fly on the wall in that room. But I got bits and pieces, and we even started talking about some character traits, and we understood that we had a very strong artistic connection, even with The Worst Person in the World. So we knew we wanted to do something together again. It’s an indirect shape because he knew me much better while writing this character, both as an actress and as a person. And I think the conversation we have had, it’s not directly that it’s me, of course, but it is some perspectives and some themes that we share the same ideas about. In that way, we know that we can express something through each other and through that collaboration. It’s a very tight collaboration, and that’s how it shapes itself.
Inga, can you also discuss working with Joachim and shaping your character?
IIL: Yeah, it started in the auditioning process, actually, because we had such lovely conversations about life and art and parenthood and siblings and families. It already started to grow a little during that time. Then having those rehearsals was golden because it made me feel very safe and secure. I felt like I could trust Joachim very much. That made me very raw and open, and it made the character filled with love, but also melancholic in a way, which I don’t think she was meant to be.
RR: It’s impossible not to get melancholic working with Joachim!
IIL: We bring out like, melancholy in each other.
RR: It’s the same with me and him!
IIL: Yeah! If we look each other in the eye, it’s like we can start to cry immediately if we don’t look away or stop ourselves because there’s something. It’s very nice because he’s able to connect with people in a very truthful way, so he will bring out the truth from the actor, which is good.
That’s great! The structure of a family home and the memories it reflects are important to the film. How did this film cause each of you to reflect on your own memories of childhood or family homes?
RR: That’s Joachim’s way of working. In the conversations, he invites you to talk about things or we talk about things that have affected both him and us, and you bring your personal perspective to a situation that is, of course, imagined in the script. Even the crew leans into the themes and adds their own personal input to the scenes and perspective. So I think that one of the strongest things about his productions is how, um, yeah, how personal it gets to everyone working on a movie. Yeah.
Can each of you talk about what helped develop your chemistry? You’re playing sisters who have drifted apart with very different priorities in life, so that sounds like a tricky dynamic to nail.
RR: It’s a great setup of two characters that have so much love for each other, but live such different lives, and, well, I can only speak for my character, but not really being aware of why she keeps choosing these things and why she struggles with relationships. Then, in that pivotal scene where they’re together in the bed, she realizes that Nora was taking care of Agnes when she was little. And then it has gradually changed when they’ve grown up and are living their grown-up lives. Agnes is taking care of Nora. And because Nora protected Agnes in the aggressive environment they grew up in, she’s also able to make safer choices for herself in life. I really love that, too… the detail and complexity of that setup of the sisters; it’s amazing and a testament to how great Eskil and Joachim are at writing characters and setting up scenes.
Thank you for your time! Inga, I look forward to seeing you in more movies, and Renate, I also loved you in A Different Man. Incredible performance, great movie. It was lovely to meet both of you.
RR and IIL: Thank you!
Many thanks to Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for taking the time for this interview.
SEE ALSO: Read our ★★★★ review of Sentimental Value here
Robert Kojder
