Sorry, Baby – Film Review
Reviewed by Damien Straker on the 4th of September 2025
VVS Films presents a film by Eva Victor
Written by Eva Victor
Produced by Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, and Barry Jenkins
Starring Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Louis Cancelmi, Kelly McCormack, Hettienne Park, E. R. Fightmaster, Lucas Hedges, and John Carroll Lynch
Cinematography Mia Cioffi Henry
Edited by Alex O’Flinn and Randi Atkins
Music by Lia Ouyang Rusli
Rating: M
Running Time: 103 minutes
Release Date: the 4th of September 2025
Sorry, Baby’s darkly humorous approach to trauma is startlingly original. The film’s star and first-time director, Eva Victor, uses humour to highlight our disbelief when people prove callous and indifferent to personal suffering. Meanwhile, the visuals, including a deft colour scheme and selective camera shots, evoke a frozen mindset. These techniques ensure the film is a sharp visualisation of emotional paralysis. What is effective is how these visual choices and themes approach an incredibly difficult subject matter with humour and personal insights. One would never expect a film about this type of suffering to be funny, but the execution is undeniable.
In the first of several chapters, Agnes (Eva Victor) works as a literature professor. Yet in the leafy, autumn setting of rural New England, she is reluctant to leave her home. However, she finds some respite when her friend Lydie (Naomi Ackie) visits. They also dine together with some strange college friends, including Natasha (Kelly McCormack). The film then reverts to their student days. Agnes excels in class, and her thesis impresses her college professor, Preston Decker (Louis Cancelmi). He invites her to his home to review her paper with him. What happens next leaves Agnes shaken. She must rekindle her trust in others, including her bumbling neighbour, Gavin (Lucas Hedges).
Eva Victor uses deft stylistic choices to inform Agnes’s feelings. The leafy, brown autumn aesthetic renders the visuals naturalistic and mellow but never repressive. The look is Agnes’s emotional stasis. She is alive but unable to accept her trauma. The camerawork is equally expressive. It leaves the framing dormant and symmetrical. The extended shot duration, where narrow passageways lie, renders the interiors chilling and isolated. In a pivotal scene, Agnes enters Preston’s house. The camera focuses on the building’s exterior. A time-lapse technique moves the shot from day to night and from trust to uncertainty. The symmetrical frames and still shots underline Agnes’s feelings, rendering her shocked and emotionally stilted. These are examples of how Victor uses her formal properties to probe the character’s emotions.
The tonal shifts between sarcastic humour and trauma influences the themes. Agnes is stunned by her doctor’s indifference and lack of empathy. Later, two women at her college prove equally unhelpful. The self-depreciating humour here is miraculous. It works because it underlines Agnes’s disbelief at how nonchalant people are about trauma. Her complex feelings are reflected through intertextual references too, including the film 12 Angry Men (1957) and the novel Lolita (1955). Later, Agnes is unable to publicly explain why she cannot participate in jury duty. The moment makes her feel judged about her experiences. Several men see her regain her comfort in others. A college bro she teaches says Lolita makes him uncomfortable. Pete (John Carroll Lynch) consoles her during a panic attack. Casual sex with her Gavin also eases her pain. These characters provide her with comfort and press her to move forward.
Another strong quality is Eva Victor’s deadpan performance. The first chapter establishes her warm chemistry with Lydie and their support for each other. Suggestions of romantic feelings are hinted at but left unexplored. Eva Victor proves completely adept at performing deadpan comedy. Her excellent comedic performance is perfectly attuned to the lowkey humour. Her constricted body language imagines someone physically imprisoned by trauma. In one scene, Agnes covers her window with her essay pages. This memorable image shows she partly blames herself and is being shielded from the world’s judgement. The side characters are memorable. Naomi Ackie creates an energetic support figure while John Carroll Lynch and Lucas Hedges bring humour and warmth to their parts. They’re integral to Agnes rebuilding her trust. Kelly McCormack has a funny side role as Natasha who is constantly passive-aggressive. The performances perfectly synchronise with the themes of trust and personal renewal.
Sorry Baby is one of the most unique films released this year. Its formal choices are deeply expressive of personal stasis. The images, paired with Eva Victor’s rigid physicality, underline how emotionally stifling trauma is. Its exploration of grief through dark comedy is also completely unexpected. It ensures the film resists being too nihilistic. Trauma stifles our interactions with others. Yet as the film’s finale suggests, it is an unavoidable part of living. Instead, humour, friendships, and sexual partners show there is comfort in others. It is admittedly a slow-burning film where the most dramatic occurrence is in the middle section. Yet the novel approach to its troubling subject matter leaves you completely mesmerised.
Summary: Sorry, Baby's novel approach to its troubling subject matter leaves you completely mesmerised.
4
Fascinating
About the Author
Damien Straker is a freelance writer and film critic. He studied at the University of Sydney and graduated with an Arts Honours degree in Film Studies. He is a pop culture aficionado and enjoys talking about all films, 90s TV shows, ninjas and watching Rugby League. His favourite film directors are Alfonso Cuarón, Clint Eastwood and Alexander Payne.
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