Elle Fanning talks about his work on a complex family drama Sentimental value made her feel her own family angst when her older sister, Emmy nominee Dakota Fanning, starred in the film. Joachim TrierNorwegian film for the first time.
“I think we had a Q&A after that and I just started crying,” Fanning admitted during Deadline. Contender Film: Los Angeles panel for the film with Trier and his colleagues Renata ReinsveInga Ibsdotter and Stellan Skarsgård.
“I thought, 'My sister is in the audience!' Fanning continued by noting how the film's emotionally charged relationship between the two daughters (Reinsve and Ibsdotter) of the director father (Skarsgård) left her confused while her real-life brother and sister watched the film. The official Norwegian Oscars are full of hope. “I wanted to hug her tightly because especially the scene in which [Reinsve and Ibsdotter] we're in bed together – and I'm the little sister, she's the big sister – I think Joachim just captures that relationship so beautifully. So I was happy to share this with her. And we cried and hugged a lot after the movie.”
Although Fanning was the only American performer in the film, like her character as a Hollywood actress suddenly thrust into a tense family life, she says she didn't feel like an outsider when she joined the cast and crew in Oslo.
“Not really,” she said. “I think I'm such a fan of Joachim Trier, Renata and Stellan, and to meet Inga, and as Stellan said, I would say yes to a very, very small role, just one line, to play in a Joachim Trier film. I was such a fan. And so I didn't feel, even though I'm playing an outsider, I definitely didn't feel like an outsider.
She added: “I was very involved and we had a great rehearsal process, which is very important for Joachim. During one of our first Zoom calls, he said to me the following: “Please come to Oslo. This is how I work. We rehearse together at home, in a room where it's all one-on-one and we don't really analyze anything too much.”
Fanning added: “It's a very personal story for all of us because Joachim allows us to share our own experiences with each other. He kind of shapes the character around you or cuts out lines that he doesn't think need to be said and kind of lives in that silence. The film is so emotional and I think it's because we all felt that way. We all felt very raw and open and it was an incredible setting and experience and really the best experience I've ever had. The atmosphere it creates is really special.”
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