REVIEW: “Sorry, Baby” (2025)

(Courtesy Letterboxd) 

Eva Victor was previously known for writing and performing in several Comedy Central shorts on social media. These quirky and existential videos (which centered on Victor having anxiety over various things like soda cans, restaurant bills, and birthday cards) caught the attention of filmmaker-producer Barry Jenkins, who immediately saw a director in Victor. He then encouraged her to write a screenplay, which she would eventually headline and direct herself, marking her directorial debut. The result is the Sundance-winning human dramedy, Sorry, Baby, about a woman struggling to move on from a traumatic event. 

The narrative in this quirky and engaging story is episodic, non-linear, and novelistic, focusing on Victor's Agnes, her friendship with her college roommate (Naomi Ackie), who is expecting a child; her time in graduate school, including when she was sexually assaulted (although this central incident is never actually seen); her later role as a college professor; and her continual struggles with emotional anxiety and unexpected panic attacks. 

Sorry, Baby is a moving yet complicated story. Agnes carries a sense of guilt and uncertainty over the whole matter, often having a hard time explaining what happened to her (and her feelings in general) and if she should tell others. One difficult scene where she recounts the central incident reveals her confusion and sadness; the close up of Victor’s face throughout makes it all the more heartbreaking. With a few suicidal references, her friend Lydia worries for her safety and well-being. Themes of loneliness, uncertainty, how things change, a misguided sense of love, yet choosing to stay alive (even if Agnes can't see why) are central to this flawed but compassionate story. There are even characters who aren't sure if having a family or children are in their futures. And if there were, what would they say? 

But while Sorry, Baby can be emotionally intimate in how Agnes tries to explain her situation and move on, she also uses sexual intimacy as a coping mechanism (including flings with a neighbor, played by Lucas Hedges), which sends a confusing message about consent and non-consent, what characters want and don't want (flashbacks reveal what she thought she wanted in grad school), and if one is really different from the other. While no explicit nudity is ever shown, there's still a lot of thrusting and moaning in at least three scenes. Characters have frank conversations about sex and anatomy. As a college professor, Agnes teaches her students about the controversial novel Lolita, about a young woman who is sexually assaulted. (“How did you find the writing itself,” she asks her students.) There's also jealousy and rudeness from a former classmate and friend, and apparently dismissive advice from doctors, university staff, and lawyers. 

Victor undoubtedly has a unique voice, and she certainly has written a unique way of looking at a hot-button issue. The way the shots are composed in this film, whether from a distance, at nighttime, or with sunshine over people's faces, is poetic and immersive. Some are beautifully done, while others balance tears with laughter, and many others showcase the power of silence, in terms of what is seen externally and what is kept internally. from everyone and everything else. Composer Lia Ouyang Rusli enhances select moments with very moving piano ballads throughout. Veteran character actor John Carrol Lynch has a standout scene as a sandwich shop owner, who assures Agnes, “It’s okay to not be okay. But are you okay?” Another sweet moment (which makes up the film's poster image) finds Anges adopting a stray cat, which becomes a coping mechanism for her. 

People who've gone through such trauma may find this story relatable and coping, as well as challenging. Others should be discerning about, once again, not only the difference between consent and non-consent, but also between what they want and what they don't want. It's an ongoing conversation, and one that doesn't come easy. 

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