Sorry, Baby (2025)
Directed by: Eva Victor
Premise: Agnes (Eva Victor) has become an English professor at her alma mater following an assault by her thesis advisor. Agnes initially appears unphased but the experience haunts her.
What Works: Sorry, Baby exists on the overlap between comedy and drama. It’s fundamentally about a woman reconciling with a traumatic experience but the characters are very likable, idiosyncratic, and funny. The film demonstrates an impressive management of the tone. The humor and the drama support one another rather than cancelling each other out because both the comedy and the tragedy are rooted in empathy for these characters. Sorry, Baby is very well staged and shot. There is a rawness to the filmmaking. Writer and director Eva Victor isn’t afraid of stillness and awkwardness, finding the humanity in those moments. This is especially true after the assault. Sorry, Baby captures the nauseating banality of the way the world continues in the aftermath of trauma. The story is told partly out of sequence and the nonlinear narrative works for this film, with the pieces gradually coming together. Sorry, Baby has several impressive performances, primarily from Eva Victor who stars as Agnus. Victor plays this just right. We can see the anxiety in Agnus’ posture and face but Victor makes Agnus more than an assault survivor. Naomi Ackie plays Agnus’ best friend and Ackie and Victor are convincing as women who have been friends for a long time. Kelly McCormack creates a distinct and vivid character as Agnus’ passive aggressive colleague while Lucas Hedges plays Agnus’ neighbor.
What Doesn’t: Characters are often defined by their relationships to other people but Agnus’ interactions are often perfunctory or one-sided. Sorry, Baby introduces a lot of interesting supporting characters but it doesn’t do much with them. The relationship between Agnus and her jealous coworker never evolves and Lucas Hedges doesn’t have anything to do except be the nice guy next door. A few characters show up for just a single scene such as John Carroll Lynch as a local shop owner who has a poignant moment with Agnus and then disappears from the story. One of the distinguishing qualities of Sorry, Baby is the way it avoids the dramatics of assault stories. The restraint is generally in the movie’s favor but the filmmakers err on the side of underplaying the trauma to such an extent that the picture is a bit emotionally flat. The audience is kept at a distance from the characters.
Bottom Line: Sorry, Baby deals with difficult subject matter in a way that’s both empathetic and funny. This a unique picture with a distinct filmmaking voice and Sorry, Baby is an impressive feature directorial debut by Eva Victor.
Episode: #1061 (August 17, 2025)