‘Sorry, Baby’ (2025)

‘Sorry, Baby’ is a character driven drama with elements of dark comedy that follows Agnes (Eva Victor) a young professor who is dealing with a traumatic experience she had in grad school. Unfolding non-linearly, the story covers Agnes’ past and present.

Opening on Agnes welcome Lydie (Naomi Ackie), her grad school best friend, to her home for the week end, the two reconnect and get ready for a dinner with the rest of their former class. Simmering just beneath the surface, the two talk and touch upon a dark and hidden secret, with the film not uncovering the tragic event until it segments and leaps backwards in time to a new chapter.

The story re-focuses and shows Agnes and Lydie at grad school. Victor and Ackie deliver a lived in feel to their relationship that shines as true and genuine between the two actors, establishing a realistic and grounded tone to both their relationship and the film as a whole.

With Agnes a more studious pupil, Lydie struggles to finish her paper, where Agnes is praised by their mentor and professor Decker (Louis Cancelmi) as he recognises her exceptional talent for writing. The chapter tile ‘The year the Bad thing happened’ foreshadows Agnes’ trauma.

Invited to professor Decker’s house to review her thesis, the film shows her walking in. Staying on the exterior shot of the house after the door shuts behind her, time lapses to later in the day and then in the evening. Reopening the door at nightfall, Agnes leaves, distraught. With no words uttered, the tragedy that had transpired is telegraphed with little to no uncertainty.

Driving home in almost a fugue state, Agnes relays the sequence of events to Lydie immediately after. Telling her Decker sexually assaulted her, the film tells us, rather than show us. Hearing the experience from Agnes’ point of view imbues the incident with the fear and pain that she experienced, informing us of the lasting impact that this is likely to have on her life. Contemplative and heartbreaking, without undue violence or aggression, ‘Sorry, Baby’ conveys the immeasurable damage that unwanted advances and assault can have on a person.

Shifting tonally, the visit to the doctor’s the next morning, both Lydie and Agnes adopt a much more defensive facade, almost antagonising the practitioner reading the standard issue questions following a sexual assault incident. Almost taking it personally, the two women awkwardly navigate the situation as if it is a perpetuation of the attack being carried out on them, as if they’re being assaulted by the standard issue questions.

Channelling a sense of resentment at the perceived neglect for what had happened to her, Agnes inadvertently lashes out at the doctor administering her induction. Expressing her anger in a non constructive way, the damage done to her by Decker can already be seen taking form and affecting those around her.

Further betrayed by no chance at retribution once professor Decker announces he is leaving the school immediately after the incident, Victor’s Agnes is left stranded with her pain. Illustrating the lack of power and chance to seek justice, ‘Sorry, Baby’ shows the ease with which wrongdoers find a way to escape, leaving those harmed impotent and unable to attain justice.

In an absurdly insulting and somehow also hilarious turn, Agnes then goes to the administration of the school to try to start an inquiry. The hilarity arises as she is faced with two very anxious heads of the school, who manage to utter the least helpful phrase imaginable in the situation - “We know what you’re going through. We are women.”

The absurdly futile expression stands out as both a statement towards the inability of authorities to act and as a hilarious reminder of the empty platitudes that can be uttered in such situations, ringing entirely hollow and useless to those harmed.

Mirroring the ineptitude and unpreparedness of authorities when it comes to taking action against sexual predators and attackers, the film reminds itself that it is a mix of genres, injecting moments of comedy in the drama that is Agnes’ life.

Without the violent expression of what happened to Agnes being shown on screen, the film chooses a path that explores the aftermath and the long term impact her being assaulted by professor Decker has on the woman. Steering the ship masterfully, having written and directed the feature, Victor tells exactly the story she wants to.

Showing the aftermath, the immeasurable and long lasting impact her being raped has had on her but also suffusing sharp jabs here and there, Victor has created a superb exploration of the innermost thoughts and feelings of a rape victim.

Without the film being an absolute deep dark pit of misery, Victor manages to carry the overall tone as light and enjoyable, teaching its audience an important lesson without it resorting to heavy handed preaching or fear-mongering. Landing heavy punches, the creator and actress also finds moments of levity throughout, to contrast the starkly difficult time she is going through.

An exceptionally well told story, ‘Sorry, Baby’ delivers an informative insight into the scarred psyche of a victim. Choosing to show that life does go on and everyone still has their own problems, the film finds momentary respite to infuse life into the heavy subject matter. A standout amongst a group of talents, Kelly McCormack surprises as Natasha, delivering a socially awkward try-hard, missing social cues and inadvertently delivering the most unanticipated laughs.

With the understanding of what topic the film will cover, one may have certain expectations. Without being too heavy to handle and completely avoiding the pitfall of being an absolute downer, ‘Sorry, Baby’ says what it has to say and finds ways to show its audience that it is possible to move on from such a negative and life changing experience.

Score: 4/4