Movie: Sorry, Baby (2025)
Production Companies: Pastel, Big Beach, High Frequency Entertainment, Tango Entertainment
Distributed by: A24
Producers: Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins, Frank Azira
Directed by: Eva Victor
Written by: Eva Victor
Starring: Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges, John Carroll Lynch, Louis Cancelmi, Kelly McCormack
Review by: Stefano Todaro

Eva Victor made their presence known years ago with comedy clips that took a satirical look at feminism, relationships, women, society, and the like. It’s no surprise to anybody that Victor, who has a background in acting and playwriting, put all of their many talents together to write, direct, and act in their own feature-length film. Not only is it a commendable accomplishment to act in and write the script for a directorial debut, but it’s jaw-dropping when that debut is as stunning as Victor’s Sorry, Baby.

Sorry, Baby is told in several out-of-order chapters that chronicle Agnes, played by Victor, over the most recent couple of years of her life. The story structure isn’t meant to confuse or complicate; it’s intended to help us learn more about Agnes without defining her by the incredibly difficult life event she had to endure. Rather than opening with Agnes’ tragedy, we meet Lydie, played by Naomi Ackie, who has visited her best friend Agnes after a long absence. Lydie is living in New York and is expecting a baby, and Agnes is an English professor who lives in the same house she used to live in with Lydie when they were grad students together. We learn a great deal about Agnes and Lydie simply by watching them interact and chat on a couch. Little bits and pieces of their lives are revealed, but there is so much left unsaid that you can uncover by understanding the body language, eye contact, shared silences, and laughter.

In the following chapter, we learn of Agnes’ traumatic event that occurred when she was a grad student. We see the immediate aftermath and how Agnes tries to move forward. She leans on Lydie for help and support, but she also digs deep down to try to unpack how and why she feels the way that she does. The ensuing sections of Sorry, Baby are beautiful slice-of-life vignettes that further piece together our understanding of Agnes and how her life has and hasn’t changed. We’re learning along the way the same way she is.

What makes it all so much more enveloping is Victor’s script and their ability to write conversations that are so wise, depressing, and hilarious all at once. When I say depressing and hilarious, I don’t mean to say there are drastic tonal shifts; I mean to say that the dialogue is authentic and rich. Sometimes the way we deal with difficult situations is to find the humor in other things, and maybe another way to deal with tragedy is by finding ways to stay true to who you are. For Agnes, that means continuing to be curious, funny, and intellectual. I get the feeling that Victor wrote the Agnes character through a very personal lens. You can see in Victor’s performance that they and Agnes might just be the same person, as if Victor is the only actor who would be able to read those lines.

As pitch-perfect as nearly everything is in Sorry, Baby, Eva Victor’s performance is the film’s most inspiring feat. It’s a nuanced, clever, and sharply comedic performance that completely sucks you in. Even though Victor’s onscreen body language might say they’re shy and introverted, there’s a quiet confidence that completely takes over once they speak and work through scenes. It’s incredible how capable Victor is at bringing you into their world with their acting, even though it might not feel like that much is happening in it. It’s easy to be transported to faraway and fantastical lands, but bringing a viewer onto that couch with you in a humble house in the middle of the woods takes a special talent.

Sorry, Baby takes a close and personal look at trauma, and puts us in the shoes of somebody who is doing their best trying to work through it all. There’s no one correct way to handle the difficulties in our lives. Nobody has the answers, and Eva Victor will be the first person to tell you that they certainly don’t have the answers. We’re all going to go through hardships, and all we can do is try to learn and work through them. And hopefully we can do our best to help others along the way.

9.4/10

By: Stefano Todaro