There is something almost unassuming about Sorry, Baby on the surface. From its opening scene, where one friend visits another during a snowy New England winter, it seems like a quiet friendship-driven comedy. But as Eva Victor’s nonlinear narrative unravels, 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 the latter is the one who is pregnant, there is concern laced in her voice as she interacts with her best friend. After an uncomfortable, comedic standoff between Lydie and pick-me Natasha (Kelly McCormack) at dinner with their former grad cohort, it becomes clear that something bad happened to Anges.
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. Early on, it is mostly handled with humor, like when Lydie 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 what happened. Instead, we see Agnes go 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 when it’s dark. Agnes eventually climbs down the front steps in a rush, clearly frazzled, while Decker kind of looms behind the glass door. The whole scene feels detached but because we are already on Agnes’ wavelength, it is clear what occurred.
Victor’s portrayal of life after that moment 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. Character actor John Carroll Lynch appears 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, and see her reminded of it at others.
Victor ends Sorry, Baby 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.” To take a concept like that and turn it into an interesting, at times poignantly funny, brilliant debut proves Victor is a cinematic powerhouse in the making.
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.
