There is something almost unassuming about Sorry, Baby on the surface. From its opening scene following two friends as one visits the other, it seems like a normal interaction within a quiet comedy. But as Eva Victor’s nonlinear narrative unravels itself, you find yourself completely devastated by the simplicity and relatability of the story and how it is told.
Written and directed by the first-time filmmaker, Victor also stars as Agnes, a young woman who lives in a small, quiet house by herself near the university where she teaches. As mentioned before, she is visited by her best friend Lydie (Naomi Ackie, seen most recently in Blink Twice). Though she is the one who is pregnant, there is concern laced in her voice as she interacts with her best friend. As they have dinner with their former grad cohort, it becomes clear that Agnes has some unsettling history with her former advisor, leading to an uncountable yet comedic stand-off between Lydie and pick-me Natasha (Kelly McCormack).
As the narrative jumps around and we see both women go through their grad program, it is revealed that some sort of assault happened to Agnes at the hands of her advisor, Decker (Louis Cancelmi), a mild-mannered divorcee with a son. It is mostly handled with humor, like when Lydie calls her to tell her she is gay and dating and she asks if Agnes is okay. “Yes, I got a cat,” she replies sardonically. But it’s when Victor indirectly deals with the incident that Sorry, Baby reaches a whole other level.
Victor never shows us the assault. Instead, Agnes goes into Decker’s home. The camera then opens into a wide shot of the whole house and lingers there for a moment while neighbors walk by. It then cuts to the sun going down, then again to when it’s dark. We eventually see Agnes climbing down the front steps in a rush, clearly frazzled while Decker kind of looms behind the glass door. The whole scene is detached but yet because we are already on Agnes’ wavelength, it is clear what happened.
Victor’s portrayal of life after the assault is very similar to how life is for many victims of the same crime. It isn’t always trauma-filled and squeezed for drama. Agnes is still affected by it, but there are moments of comedy, of joy, of anxiety. There’s a great scene with character actor John Carroll Lynch as a stranger trying to calm her down from a panic attack. Lucas Hedges shows up as a fuck buddy Agnes reaches out to in moments of despair. We watch Agnes try to move on and do so successfully at times, at other she’s reminded of it. Just watching a survivor try to live her life is powerful and relatable. To take a concept like that and turn it into an interesting, at times poignantly funny Victor is a cinematic powerhouse in the making.
Victor ends the film with Agnes talking to Lydie’s new baby. “I’m sorry that bad things are gonna happen to you,” she says. “I hope they don’t. If I can ever stop something from being bad let me know. But sometimes bad stuff just happens.” If that doesn’t sum up the comforting sentiment of the whole film, I don’t know what does.
Sorry, Baby premiered at Sundance and competed in the U.S. competition category. Eva Victor won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. While A24 picked up the film, no release date has been announced.
