- Eva Victor, Naomie Ackie, John Carroll Lynch
- August 22nd 2025
- 103
- Eva Victor
Eva Victor’s film follows a student named Agnes over several years to see how she deals with the aftermath of a traumatic event.
Eva Victor wasn’t well-known in the film world until they debuted Sorry, Baby at the Sundance Film Festival in January, when they established themselves as a major new voice in filmmaking.
Victor’s feature directorial debut is split into chapters that sum up a year in the life of student-turned-literature professor Agnes (Victor).
The film begins with Agnes’s best friend and former university roommate, Lydie (Naomi Ackie), coming to visit from New York. During that reunion weekend, they allude to something traumatic happening to Agnes four years earlier.
The second chapter then jumps back to that time to reveal what happened, and the ensuing sections catch us up to the present day, with Lydie’s next visit to Agnes’s remote rural home in New England.
Within minutes of watching Sorry, Baby, you will be struck by Victor’s writing. Their screenplay is sharp, understated, darkly funny and brutally honest. It could have easily been a dark and sombre piece, but Victor handles this tough, heavy subject in an unexpected, nuanced and refreshing way.
They strike a delicate balance between light and dark and all the different tones within the story, which deftly switches back and forth between funny and sad repeatedly throughout the film.
The highlights of Sorry, Baby are Agnes’s bond with a stray cat and her effortless friendship with Lydie. You buy into their friendship immediately because they’re so easy and relaxed with each other.
While audiences may not be able to relate to Agnes’s trauma, they may be able to identify with two friends being on different timelines – Lydie has moved away and got married, while Agnes’s life is on a slower path.
Ackie and Victor have excellent platonic chemistry and their naturalistic performances bring Victor’s clever words to life in a delightful way. Lucas Hedges rounds out the talented cast as Agnes’s neighbour and sometimes lover, Gavin.
Sorry, Baby is a stunning debut from Victor. If this is what they produced on their first try, it’ll be interesting to see what they come up with next.
In cinemas from Friday 22nd August.
By Hannah Wales.
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