Telluride Dispatch #3: Dad Mode with ‘Sentimental Value,’ ‘Hamnet,’ ‘Frankenstein’
Day three of the 52nd Telluride Film Festival has revealed a striking theme woven through its lineup: imperfect fathers. Across many of the films I have seen thus far—La grazia, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, and Jay Kelly—we see fathers whose career and lifestyle choices, whether driven by duty, fame, or ambition, pull them away from their families, leaving emotional gaps for their children to work through. In La grazia, Toni Servillo’s president prioritizes rigid tradition over his daughter’s need for connection. Springsteen captures Bruce’s obsession with music, straining his bond with his abusive father and other loved ones as he chases Nebraska’s raw truth. Jay Kelly probes a man’s ambition sidelining family time, a choice that hit me as a dad who’s felt the tug of work over home. These stories, each distinct, expose the messy humanity of fathers who sacrifice presence for purpose, a thread that’s become the festival’s emotional core. This morning’s early Sentimental Value screening deepened this exploration.
Sentimental Value, directed by Joachim Trier, is a Norwegian comedy-drama that premiered at Cannes 2025, winning the Grand Prix (read Sophia’s incredibly well-written Cannes review here). After their mother’s death, sisters Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) reunite with their estranged father, Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård), a once-famous director. Gustav has been absent since their childhood. When he returns for their mother’s funeral, he offers Nora a role in his comeback film, an autobiographical project about his mother. When Nora declines, he casts a Hollywood star (Elle Fanning), complicating family dynamics even further. The film, a Norwegian Oscar entry, explores reconciliation and legacy similar to the aforementioned films.
All four leads (Stellan Skarsgård, Renate Reinsve, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning) joined director Joachim Trier at the Werner Herzog Theatre to introduce Sentimental Value and dive into a lively Q&A afterward, the crowd buzzing with excitement following the showing. It’s a really terrific ensemble film, with Skarsgård’s performance being my personal favorite of the group. His Gustav carries a weary gravitas, his lack of regret over years of absence is tempered by a stubborn charm that hooks you. Reinsve and Lilleaas bring a wonderful vulnerability to their fractured bond, while Fanning’s Hollywood star adds sharp, outsider wit. There are no missed beats in the film; it’s well crafted and written throughout, Trier’s direction balancing humor and heartbreak with precision. With its tight script and standout ensemble, Sentimental Value is sure to be in the awards discussion all season long. (Grade: B+)
Now, prepare yourself, if you will, for a boatload of hyperbole. Because what else can you do when writing about a movie as beautiful and haunting as Chloé Zhao’s extraordinary new film, Hamnet?
Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley star as William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, and the ultimate struggle they face after the untimely death of their son, Hamnet. Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, Hamnet explores the couple’s passionate yet strained marriage in Elizabethan England. William’s burgeoning playwriting career pulls him to London, leaving Agnes to raise their three children (Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith) on her own. When 11-year-old Hamnet dies during the bubonic plague, their grief fractures their bond. Agnes wrestles with loss in her isolation, while William channels his pain into creating his greatest work, Hamlet. The film reinforces the festival’s theme of imperfect fathers whose ambitions cost family ties (Shakespeare’s absence during Hamnet’s death is an ache that never leaves Agnes).
Mescal’s raw, soulful William, torn between ambition and guilt, is a career-defining turn. His quiet anguish is unbearably powerful. Buckley’s Agnes, fierce yet shattered, carries the film’s heart. The “Give Jessie Buckley the Oscar or We Riot” campaign starts now.
Zhao’s intimate direction, paired with Joshua James Richards’s lush cinematography (boasting some of the finest lighting since The Godfather), crafts a visually stunning elegy. There wasn’t a dry eye in the theater, and I found myself staring blankly, mouth agape, the entire walk back to our condo.
Hamnet captures both darkness and grace in one of the most unapologetically raw and profoundly moving films I’ve ever seen. It is the performance of both Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal’s careers, and Chloé Zhao’s most accomplished work.
I know it is a faux pas to use the “M” word nowadays, but I’m gonna do it. Hamnet is a fucking masterpiece. (Grade: A)
Following a brief nap, still reeling from Hamnet’s emotional weight, I headed to the Palm Theater for Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025), another chapter in Telluride’s imperfect fathers saga. With the crowd buzzing over del Toro’s gothic vision, I settled in for a tale of creation and neglect.
Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), shaped by his abusive, controlling father, echoes this flawed paternity in crafting a living being (Jacob Elordi) through a grotesque experiment, unraveling the consequences of unchecked ambition. The performances are fine (including Christoph Waltz and Mia Goth in supporting roles), but the gothic tale shines with exquisite costume (Kate Hawley) and set designs (Tamara Deverell), masterful soundscape (a large team including Paul Germann, Dustin Harris, Nelson Ferreira, and Nathan Robitaille), a lovely score (Alexandre Desplat), and gorgeous cinematography (Dan Laustsen). Wonderfully crafted, it falls short in narrative and pacing, with a tedious third act. (Grade: C+)
Day three’s trio of Sentimental Value, Hamnet, and Frankenstein cemented Telluride’s imperfect fathers theme. As the 52nd festival’s final day looms, I’m eager to wrap things up on a high note with Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus’ Cover-Up doc, Daniel Roher’s crime/drama Tuner, and Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. At least that’s the plan. You never know how things will change on any given day here in the mountains of Telluride.
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