Diksha Sundriyal
In Joachim Trier’s ‘Sentimental Value,’ a film director, Gustav Borg, returns to Oslo, where he must find a way to reconcile with his daughters, Nora and Agnes. The relationship between the trio is strained, mainly because of Gustav being an absent father all these years. When he returns, he starts filming a movie, which he has based on his mother’s life. When Nora, an actress, refuses to play the lead, Gustav hires an American actress, Rachel Kemp. Initially, Rachel enters the picture with the idea of an existing new project, but soon, she discovers that she has landed herself in the middle of the family’s chaotic and messy attempt at reconciliation. With Elle Fanning, who plays Rachel, being the only American cast member in the movie, the role becomes more grounded, reflecting its realistic nature. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Elle Fanning Deeply Related to the Fictional Rachel Kemp
Despite feeling incredibly realistic and hard-hitting, ‘Sentimental Value’ is a fictional story created by Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt. The idea was to explore the family dynamic between Gustav and his two daughters, and stir things up; an outsider was needed to become the catalyst for certain events. This is where Rachel Kemp’s role comes in. For Elle Fanning, the chance to work with Trier was the major draw towards the role. She had been his fan since watching ‘The Worst Person in the World.’ Trier, meanwhile, started looking for someone to play Rachel, and came to Fanning through director Mike Mills, with whom she’d previously worked in ’20th Century Women.’
In the movie, Rachel is an American who is staggeringly miscast in a role written for and by a Norwegian, and the meta nature of the role wasn’t lost on Fanning. Despite the differences between her and the role, she could connect to Rachel in several ways, particularly in the challenges she faces in her career. She saw the character as someone who appears to be a Hollywood star in a cliched sense, but there are layers to her that no one sees. Fanning saw Rachel as a vulnerable and flawed character who is struggling with a career that doesn’t feel her own and a lack of control over her choices and work. She lacks fulfillment, which is what she wishes to have through Gustav’s movie.
Fanning said that she has been in Rachel’s place before, in the sense that she, too, has felt misunderstood and underestimated. “You’re like, ‘Why won’t they put me in this part?!’ Or you want to break out of that box. Those were all feelings that I can relate to,” the ‘Predator: Badlands’ actress said. Apart from this, Fanning also knew that she had to find the fine line where Rachel is a big star and acts like it, but at the same time is also vulnerable as a normal human being. It is this vulnerability that eventually becomes apparent in Rachel’s understanding of the character in Gustav’s film and becomes the reason why she decided to walk away from the movie. Fanning, who has been very selective about her projects, could relate to Rachel’s decision, especially with the part about how hard it actually is to say no to something that you really want.
The Sentimental Value Cast Helped Elle Fanning Create a Realistic Portrait of Rachel
While Elle Fanning shared many similarities with Rachel Kemp, she didn’t identify with the feeling of being an outsider. In the movie, it doesn’t take much for Rachel to pick up on the conflict between Gustav and his daughters, especially Nora. Since the whole thing had been a family affair from the beginning, Rachel realises that she has landed in something too personal for all the parties involved. Fanning’s experience on the set of ‘Sentimental Value’ was entirely the opposite. She felt welcomed by the director and her fellow actors, with whom she bonded over the course of filming. In the movie, Rachel attempts to adopt a Norwegian accent, which she is rather poor at. For this, Fanning, too, had to try to adopt a Norwegian accent, for which she turned to her colleagues for help.
Whenever Rachel needed the accent, Fanning would ask Trier or the other actors to recite a line in their accent so she could imitate them. She knew she didn’t have to be perfect at it because Rachel wasn’t supposed to be perfect either. Fanning revealed that Trier brought the cast together before filming in the rehearsals that took place at the house that appears as the Borg family home in the movie. This allowed the actors to find their own space for the characters while also connecting with one another, building a chemistry that served them well during the filming. The actress also appreciated Trier’s openness to let the actors bring their own experiences to the character. The freedom to explore and expand their characters helped Fanning to infuse Rachel with a sense of realism that gives the audience a strong feeling of sympathy and a sense of connection towards her.
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