Nora experiences a very difficult arc throughout the film. It’s hinted at about her past troubles, which sounds like a suicide attempt, but it’s not exactly clear what happened. Were there conversations about more backstory about where that may have come from, or was it just inherent in the script itself?
Yeah, we had some conversations, and to do that respectfully, you have to be very, very specific. And of course, I try to be as specific as I can in every single little detail about the character, so it doesn’t become something vague or something general. So, when she was going into those states of depression, I would be very specific about the thought patterns going into that and how she was thinking and how she was resisting and what she wanted to hide and what she wasn’t able to hide. I feel that to have a lot of control in that and a lot of nuance and detail in that inner work, then you’re able to be very free and flexible on set and make it look kind of easy. But it was built very particularly.
Going down that road, you get the script, you read it the first time, and you read it a second time. Was there one sequence, one scene that was sort of in the back of your mind as this is the day, this is the day I have to be the most super focused out of all of ’em?
I love that you asked the question. How do you know that actors have that? Maybe because you’ve talked to so many actors.
Probably because I do it in my own life, to be fair.
It’s a really good question. And I feel I always have those, and I know that the most pivotal scene for me in the script because was so subtle. The script [had] this subtle way of not communicating what it was trying to communicate up until the point I felt where Agnes hands Nora the script, and she reads it, and that’s when the fist punched my stomach reading the script. Then you get some kind of release. Or all of the tension that’s built up, all your confusion about these very complex dynamics, suddenly everything’s come together. And that scene I was really scared of because it’s very emotional, so you have to keep a balance. And she was at the lowest level, and I was scared to do someone with that state of bad mental health in a way that wouldn’t make sense. And just the fear of not doing justice to a scene. It felt like it was a nervous day for everyone, and everyone wanted to make that scene very important. I know that to Kasper [Tuxen, the cinematographer], that scene was pretty personal. And when we got there, we were, of course, very prepared, and it’s a lot of craft going into it, but on the day, you just have to follow what comes up. And it didn’t feel like it was just me and Inga improvising stuff in that scene because we did improvise a little bit, but it was the whole room improvising, and everyone was so leaned into what this scene could be like, the ideal version of the scene. And it was such a lovely day. It was really, it’s almost like that’s the gift when you work with Joachim. When you watch movies, you have these amazing feelings of being seen all of a sudden through someone’s story or through someone handling a story a certain way. A director or an actor, or anyone working in the movie. It’s like you suddenly feel less alone. And I think so many people on set had that feeling in that scene that day. So, that was a really amazing day.
So I have to ask you this, you’re going to think this is funny, but Nora’s apartment in the movie, I know it’s simple, it’s not fancy, but I’m obsessed with her corner windows. Is that an expensive apartment in Oslo?
[Laughs.] No, it isn’t more expensive than other apartments, but a lot of architects live in that building, and I didn’t really know, it was kind of an architect secret where architects moved because they know that it is a tall building, tons of apartments, and they’re not really big, but they have this great view. So, now the secret is out.
You’ve done the award circuit before for “Worst Person” and even last year for “A Different Man.” But this year, you’re on all these lists. You’re on my list for a Best Actress nomination. What’s your reaction to it all?
You know what, the first one of those lists I saw, I was actually sitting like this in a restaurant because it’s so surreal, it’s so surreal. It’s, of course, the biggest honor, just that I’m on those lists, I feel I’ve won because it’s so far away from what I ever thought would happen. I am very, very happy, but it is also a little bit overwhelming. So, I try to kind of halfway not pay attention, but it’s impossible because it feels so huge.
Before I let you go, you shot Christian Mungiu’s “Fjord” earlier this year. I’m such a fan of his work, and it seems like you might be back at Cannes maybe for that one.
Fingers crossed. Yeah.
Can you just talk about what that experience was like?
I learned so much. He has a completely different way of working, and it took me a couple of weeks to get into it because it’s so different than anything I’ve ever done before. Because one shot can be 12 minutes long, and then the camera is so far away. He wants to remove as much of the subjective as he can and as much manipulation as he can because of course, he understands that movies are a manipulative medium in a way. But he tries to be as objective as he can. And that was a really interesting way of working. I have only seen parts doing ADR, but I am so curious about how that will be. And I love just being pushed into something that I have no idea how I’m going to do. And learning a completely new way of doing things is, of course, such a gift as an actor, and it’s very scary. But when I kind of got the hang of it, it was really fantastic. And he’s such a great director and really a master. He builds his senses in ways I’ve never seen anyone. He really has so much poetry in his images and how they move. It’s remarkable. Yeah, I’m very excited to see it.
“Sentimental Value” is now in limited release
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Bluesky
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Threads
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Instagram
Sign Up For The Breakdown Newsletter
