Neon has set up a baity November 7 release date for Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” making their intentions crystal clear. If there was any lingering doubt about which film they’re backing hardest this awards season, consider it gone — this is their Oscar frontrunner, and they’re betting big on its Oscar chances.
The November release date echoes the strategy Neon used for “Anora” and “Anatomy of a Fall,” signaling a clear intent to build “long-lead word of mouth” once again.
Neon also has two other Cannes-winning titles in its arsenal — “The Secret Agent” and Palme d’Or winnee “It Was Just A Simple Accident” — but those will more likely be in play for the International Feature Oscar.
At Cannes, “Sentimental Value” won the Grand Jury Prize (second place). The followed two sisters, Nora and Agnes, as they reunite with their estranged father, Gustav, a once-famous director who offers Nora a role in his comeback film. When she declines, he casts a young Hollywood star instead, forcing the sisters to confront their fractured bond.
Trier’s film, although well-loved by Oscar-minded critics who attended the fest, didn’t do as well in the international critics grids. I loved the first 2/3 of this film, which had an Oscar worthy Stellan Skarsgård playing the father, in dryly comic fashion, in a battle of wits with Renate Reinsve’s daughter.
Trier doesn’t quite manage to pull all the threads together by the end, leaning into manufactured emotion where nuance should’ve done the heavy lifting. Still, based on the early U.S. reactions, I’m clearly in the minority on this one. The film has an impressive 89 on Metacritic, and is by all accounts, headed for a Best Picture nomination.