Sorry, Baby
Director: Eva Victor
Writer: Eva Victor
Cast: Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Louis Cancelmi, Kelly McCormack, Lucas Hedges, John Carroll Lynch
Seen on: 27.2.2026

Content Note: rape

Plot:
Agnes (Eva Victor) lives remotely and alone. Her best friend Lydie (Naomie Ackie) comes to visit her, a welcome change in Agnes‘ quiet life that has become quieter still after a „bad thing“ happened to her in grad school. A dinner with grad school alums brings up bad memories.

I was so sorry (no pun intended) to have missed this film in the cinema – only to find another screening in a small cinema I rarely go to. I jumped at the chance, of course, and I am really glad I did. Sorry, Baby is a great film, full of warmth and humor – extra precious attributes giving its difficult content.

[Slight SPOILERS]

Having worked at a university for a while, I know how precarious grad school is. A high pressure, highly hierarchical environment with a lot of competition and a lot of work you do on your own is the perfect breeding ground for abuse of power like sexual assault and rape. The beautiful thing about this film is that it is more concerned with the consequences and fall-out of such an attack and not the attack itself.

Writer, director and main actor Eva Victor has a good feeling for the topic as well as her representation of it. Her take seems utterly realistic and captures the horror of it, but doesn’t reduce Agnes to that event. She allows for a sense of humor because some of the moments are simply absurd. But also, because Agnes isn’t „just“ a victim, she is still a whole damn person who also likes to laugh.

Her friendship with Lydie is a thing of beauty, too. There is a very real bond between Agnes and Lydie and you feel it at every moment. Their relationship is at the heart of the film and makes the „bad thing“ so much more bearable for Agnes as much as for the viewer. And I don’t think Lucas Hedges has ever been funnier.

The film touches on many things seemingly in passing, making it even more of a rich experience, but mostly, it is just emotionally so full and satisfying that it has a fixed spot on my favorites of the year list (not that I ever write one, but in spirit).

Summarizing: Near perfect.