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If Elle Fanning's name is on the cast list, I'll be seated. I can't wait to see her shine as Effie Trinket in Sunrise on the Reaping, but there's another movie that's leapt onto my radar...and not just because it got a 19-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. Yeah, Sentimental Value is one new movie you'll want to keep an eye out for.
Here's everything we know about Elle Fanning's Sentimental Value, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2025.
What is the movie Sentimental Value about?
The new movie follows Nora and Agnes, two sisters who reunite with their estranged father Gustav. Gustav used to be a world-famous director, and hopes his next movie will prove to be his comeback. But when Nora turns down the leading role, she has to deal with the fact he gives it to a younger, American actress (played by Elle Fanning). And if there's one thing that makes European family drama even crazier, it's an American.
And Cannes festival attendees are loving the movie! "Sentimental Value is a masterclass in quiet devastation: grief, memory, and the mess of love folded into every frame," @justmiaslife tweeted. "Renate Reinsve is extraordinary, Skarsgård tender, Elle Fanning sharp. A film about what we carry, and what carries us. Film of the year immediately."
"Elle Fanning dazzles with her versatility and magnetic presence," @jairojimenez_ added. "Her role as a Hollywood star brings freshness and charisma, an actress capable of elevating any project with her natural talent and expressiveness."
Plus, Vogue is calling the best film of the year which is so serious.
Where can I watch Sentimental Value?
Sentimental Value is coming to theaters November 7, 2025. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21.
Who's in the Sentimental Value cast?
The Sentimental Value cast has some amazing names in it:
- Renate Reinsve as Nora: an actress who moves home to reconnect with her father.
- Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas as Agnes: Nora's sister.
- Stellan Skarsgård as Gustav: Nora and Agnes' father and a film director looking to make a comeback.
- Elle Fanning as Rachel: an American actress who nabs the leading role in Gustav's movie.
- Catherine Cohen as Nicky
- Cory Michael Smith
What has the cast said about the movie?
Kasper Tuxen/MUBI
Elle Fanning spilled on her growth from child actor to her now-27-year-old self, saying in a press conference she's "definitely grown in my autonomy and speaking up through the years in this business.”
“As I’ve gotten older now, yes, the world opens up and you are offered more roles. And I got very lucky with this one,” she says. “I’ve never been in the same position as Rachel because I haven’t gotten so far down the road with a project before. But I’ve definitely read a script [where] I was offered one character in the script and once I read it I thought, ‘Gosh I’m just not right for her. Maybe this other character’s better.’ And I’ve definitely not done things because I didn’t think that I was quite right for it or not ready yet for that. I’m very instinctual and go by the gut.”
And Sentimental Value was definitely a movie Elle couldn't pass up! "Once I read the script I was completely floored,” she continues. “You do not come by scripts like that that are so moving or nuanced. I read it so quickly. Everyone can always tell, if I read something really fast that means I’m really excited.”
Where was Sentimental Value filmed?
The movie began filming in Oslo in August 2024.
Check out the first look at Elle Fanning & Nicole Kidman's Margo's Got Money Troubles for more!
This post has been updated.
