Sorry, Baby: Review
Eva Victor, director and star of Sorry, Baby
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Sometimes, as humans, we might not fully understand how something made us feel. No matter how much we attempt to make it make sense, no matter how the people around us react, sometimes we just need some time to figure out how we’re going to navigate each day, try to accept what has been, attempt to move on with our lives, and find where the light will shine again. Eva Victor’s directorial debut, Sorry, Baby, is making waves across the industry for its exploration of this experience — and it’s clear to see why.
The first-time filmmaker beautifully depicts a deeply personal story, one they described in an interview for the Sundance Film Festival as:
"A part of my trauma that I haven’t seen on-screen often: the part where you’re confused."
Agnes, played by Victor herself, is forced to deal with the ever-moving rollercoaster that is life whilst coping with the fallout of a traumatic event that, for her, put everything on hold. Trapped inside her mind by a moment of cruelty that unfairly affects every facet of her being — whether physically, emotionally, or professionally — for years after the event itself, we see how Agnes processes her trauma and how those around her help her to do so. Day by day, breathing in and out and putting one foot in front of the other, she tries to continue building a career and forming relationships with those around her despite carrying the overbearing weight of a seemingly perpetual pit of trauma everywhere she goes. This gives us one of the most authentic and deeply moving depictions of life after sexual assault ever put to film.
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Eva Victor and Naomi Ackie as Agnes and Lydie in Sorry, Baby
For Agnes, her friendship with Lydie — played wonderfully by the ever-brilliant Naomi Ackie — is where the sun still shines.
Lydie is Agnes’ safe haven, offering her a place to feel comfortable and loved, even when the distance between them becomes physically greater. We see that whilst Lydie has left the small town they once shared an apartment in to move to New York City, Agnes remains in that same rural town, still in the same apartment, now teaching the program they studied together at grad school — bound by the event that shaped her early adulthood. This dynamic heartbreakingly shows how one horrible act can completely change the trajectory of one's life, affecting the way they engage with the world to the point where it seems easier to just stay put and refrain from exploring the unknown.
Prior to the event, we see that Agnes and Lydie had very different experiences of grad school. It all came quite easily to Agnes: she was well-liked, performing well academically, and seemed on track to live a fulfilling life doing what she loved. Lydie, however, struggled to keep up with her work, was confused about her sexuality, and appeared to have things a little less figured out. To then see the pendulum swing so dramatically in the opposite direction — for Lydie to have both metaphorically and literally moved on from that moment in time whilst Agnes remains stuck, unable to free herself from an act of cruelty — is some of the most heartbreaking storytelling of the year.
This dynamic, however, also offers some of the funnier moments in the film. What makes Sorry, Baby stand out is that, despite the heavy subject matter, Victor’s background as a comedian shines through with a subtle dark comedic tone throughout. It perfectly walks the line between humour and heartbreak without ever sacrificing the deeply emotional undertones driving the narrative forward. The film isn’t afraid to offer a dry, witty analysis of the institutions that so often allow such inhumanity to go unpunished, giving us an unfortunately realistic depiction of the suffering so many have had to endure — yet doing so in a way that allows audiences to laugh without undermining the seriousness of the subject matter.
As the story continues, Agnes’ trauma resurfaces at various moments, showing us just how deeply such an experience can affect day-to-day life: the struggles, restrictions, and limitations trauma can impose, and the things we as humans often take for granted until they’re gone. The longing for a return to normality runs throughout.
But more than that, we begin to see the ways in which Agnes learns to become hopeful again. We witness the aspects of life that open her up to the possibility that maybe there is still more for her out there; maybe she isn’t permanently tied to the sadness caused by the assault. Perhaps she is allowed to feel alive again, even outside of the safe, comforting presence of Lydie — her ray of sunshine.
It’s a hopeful movie — one that beautifully depicts the uncomfortable and confusing stage of trauma recovery, where it may feel as if all normality has ceased to exist. Yet, by the end, it opens itself up to the idea that it’s possible to, in Victor’s own words:
"Unfreeze enough to feel optimistic about things ahead."
A piece of art that seeks to help those in need — something we always need more of.
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Eva Victor as Agnes in Sorry, Baby
Beyond what the film offers emotionally, technically it’s a marvel that will leave you wondering how this could possibly be a debut feature.
So often, when you revisit an acclaimed director's earliest work, shades of the filmmaker they would become are present but overshadowed by inexperience. In Victor’s case, however, Sorry, Baby is as polished and assured as the work of a director five films into their career — a truly remarkable achievement in artistry. If, ten years from now, we revisit this movie and view it as an “unpolished” version of what Victor would go on to create, we might be looking at one of the greats.
Victor’s arrival as a filmmaker to watch is one of the most exciting breaths of fresh air to come out of 2025 so far, with a debut that stands confidently alongside some of the finest in history. Sorry, Baby is a movie that offers hope to those who may feel that the light will never shine on them again. It understands that, for survivors of traumatic experiences, it may feel as if hope is gone forever and life as they knew it is lost. But it reminds us that it is, in fact, possible to emerge on the other side, to want to feel alive again, to take back the life that’s yours — and to allow yourself the time needed to figure it all out.
This is one you should expect to hear much more about as the year continues and as awards season approaches. Victor delivers a brilliant triple-threat performance as writer, director, and lead actress. A supporting cast featuring Naomi Ackie, John Carroll Lynch, and Lucas Hedges all bring something special in their own right, complemented by a striking visual experience that bodes incredibly well for Eva Victor’s future as an artist we should all be excited about.
One of the most impressive and important cinematic efforts of 2025 — a film that everyone should seek out, both as a touching and beautiful story and as the potential birth of something truly special.