In Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value (2025), the Norwegian auteur behind The Worst Person in the World delivers a quietly devastating family drama that explores the fragile line between artistic creation and personal reconciliation. The film follows estranged sisters Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) as they reunite with their problematic director father, Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård), after their mother’s death. Gustav, hoping for a comeback, has written an autobiographical film inspired by his own mother’s tragic past and initially wants Nora to star in it. When she refuses, he casts American actress Rachel Kemp—played with luminous vulnerability by Elle Fanning—complicating the family’s already strained dynamics and forcing everyone to confront inherited trauma, memory, and the limits of art as therapy.
The film premiered at Cannes to a 19-minute standing ovation, earning the Grand Prix, and went on to garner widespread acclaim for its emotional authenticity and nuanced performances. It received eight Golden Globe nominations in 2026—including nods for Best Motion Picture (Drama), Best Director (Trier), Best Actress (Reinsve), Best Supporting Actress (Fanning and Lilleaas), and Best Supporting Actor (Skarsgård)—and ultimately won for Skarsgård’s masterful portrayal of the flawed, charismatic patriarch.
In an exclusive interview with AMFM Magazine’s Paul Salfen, Fanning opens up about her transformative experience on the project. She describes feeling “proud” and “excited” by the audience’s response, noting how viewers are moved and able to see themselves in the story. “Kim [Joachim Trier] just… he created a very magical special film,” she says, reflecting on the welcoming set environment that made her feel fully integrated despite playing the cultural outsider.
Rachel Kemp serves as the audience’s proxy—an American thrust into a Norwegian family’s unspoken wounds, becoming the catalyst for change while grappling with her own place in the narrative. Fanning emphasizes that she never felt like a fish out of water on set, thanks to Trier’s encouraging atmosphere. “Although Rachel… certainly is the outsider in the film,” she explains, “I didn’t necessarily feel that way. I think I wouldn’t have been able to work if I actually felt that way on set. Joakim is so welcoming and encouraging and creates this incredible environment for you.”
The role demanded a bold commitment, especially given Fanning’s intense schedule. She filmed Predator: Badlands immediately before traveling to France for the Deauville scenes in Sentimental Value, with just one day to transition. When asked about her “Hail Mary moment”—a nod to Dallas Cowboys legend Drew Pearson’s famous catch—Fanning laughs and agrees this was one. “I filmed… Badlands, and then flew to France… with like, I had one travel day in between. So that was like, yes, the Hail Mary. I’m like, all right, I gotta get this together… push myself.”
What sustains her through such grueling commitments? Passion. “It’s the love of what I get to do,” she says. Scripts like this are rare, and Trier was a bucket-list director. “There are similarities between Rachel and I,” she admits, “and I just could see her so completely of how I wanted to capture her and play her.” In those high-pressure moments, she reminds herself why she acts—it’s what she’s done since age two, and projects this profound don’t come often.
Fanning also offers advice to aspiring actors, drawing from her own path of learning on set rather than formal training. Rejection is inevitable, she warns, but it often leads to greater things. “You have to keep that in perspective… be adaptable and malleable.” And crucially: “Never take there’s no small opportunity… even if you have one line in something, you never know who’s watching… give it your all to every little thing.”
As Sentimental Value cements its place as one of 2025’s standout films—praised for balancing arthouse introspection with melodrama’s emotional punch—Fanning’s performance as Rachel stands out as a poignant reminder of the outsider’s power to heal fractured bonds. In a year of bold risks, her Hail Mary paid off spectacularly, proving once again why she’s one of the most compelling actors of her generation.
