Sorry, Baby

I am not a great fan of plot spilling in reviews, so I will try to approach this film round and round. It has so much more; other than the plot itself and one of this movie's main occurrences revolves around the fact that there is a word and a situation that no one wants to describe or call by name.

First of all, I have just adored the fact that this movie is playing with his timeline. I've like it since I first encountered it at Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" and from that day, I have a soft spot for those kind of movies, that makes us assemble the plot and it's details, according to stages from different times.

Second - this movie has some fine small scenes and conversations that doesn't feel related to the plot, but together those situations, scenes and sequences make this movie to be what it is. Small encounters and conversations that makes this movie to be so unique - sad, funny and dramatic - exactly like its main character.

It is directed and scripted by the main character and actress (Eva Victor), that I've personally never heard or watched in other movies. The other actors and actresses, that hovers above and aside are so good and contributes to shape and mold her character's...character and nature.

The puzzle that the viewer needs to assemble is composed out of several chapters, that have hinted headlines. The directing and screenwriting of several situations is just brilliant. Leaves you wonder about a situation that you can guess what it is according to details that were put on the sides of the way to the scene.

And like in each one of "Harry Potter" books and films - there is one word in this movie that is not allowed to tell or say. It can be vaguely described or hinted, but if someone will spill it out, it will make the main character confront with her emotions and feelings.

Thus, and after all being said, we understand that our protagonist should find other ways to deal with what she's been through. Sometimes it is through laughter or sarcasm and sometimes...through speaking with characters that cannot judge or understand.

Anyway...this movie has a lot of charm in it. Great acting skills and surprisingly also great writing and directing skills by a young, promising young woman, which demonstrates control over each and every one of the described skills. It deserves 7.5 stars, from my side.

SORRY, BABY (2025) ***1/2 Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Louis Cancelmi, Kelly McCormack, Lucas Hedges, John Carroll Lynch. Heartfelt and heartbreaking dramedy with Victor (who, if Sigourney Weaver & Paula Cole had a baby, resembles) as a small-town liberal arts junior professor going thru her life year-by-year with personal events - both hilariously wonderful and horrendously terrible with equal weight given - in her dry-witted, dead-pan and amiable manner with aplomb. Ably assisted by her bestie Ackie (adding sweet gravitas and anchoring the film soulfully so) and neighbor love interest Hedges (touchingly gawky and lovely), Victor (who also wrote & makes an assured directorial debut) adds layers to character development skillfully with its short-story vibes and interactions of cringe-worthy moments while balancing the deeply poignant life lessons as well as the smile-thru-it-all complexities of navigating the pitfalls with the triumphs. Bonus - arguably cinema's cutest kitty & baby. Ever.

One of the year's best films.

This is another film where I have a ton to say, but don't want my original thoughts getting lost in a giant pile of word vomit while I try and put the thoughts to the page.

Very clearly: I am not a woman, and have not gone through the specific type of trauma that takes place in this film. That said, I am a human being and have experienced a multitude of what many would consider to be out of the norm excessive traumas in my life, from an ex partner committing suicide to losing a brother to an accidental fentanyl overdose.

Trauma is something I believe until recently in this country, was an issue that was somewhat a shoved aside, something that wasn't talked about, something that in my parents day (I'm 43), would even be something to be embarrassed about. I'm sure all our Gen X parents were told to 'Man up' at some point in their lives.

Having gone through these very personal traumatic situations in my life has had a tremendous effect on who I am as a person, and how I deal with the outside world, and how I am able to control my own inner thoughts and emotions.

This is an incredible directorial debut from Eva Victor, who like many other found during 2020 while we were all stuck at our homes, and who in a very dark sarcastic way was able to breath some life and laughter into our minds during that psychotic year (also the year my brother passed).

With this film Eva paints around an act of force so intense and so heavy, without ever actually naming the act, but what she brilliantly shows you as a viewer is what becomes of someone who has experienced trauma throughout the following years, whether it be through moments of pure fear, moments of unwilling panic, moments of using laughter to continue to grieve, and moments of pure unadulterated pain.

I've been through these moments in my life, and I am thankful this film exists, as if you have not experienced heavy trauma in your life, this helps paint the portrait of what it's like for those of us who have.

I love the control of tone throughout and how it remains somber while allowing moments of breaths of fresh air through sarcastic comedy to allow your brain to take a breather.

The film executes a non-linear path that bookends itself with a monologue that I will definitely be reading over again and going back to in moments of solitude where I need to remember that even though trauma exists in my life, there are ways to pass through to get to the light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm looking forward to more from Eva Victor. Fantastic, touching work here.

Sorry, Baby is a slow burn-it takes its time to build tension, and for a while, you're not quite sure where it's going or what it's about. But that's what makes it work. The early pacing is essential; it lets you settle into the characters and truly get to know them before the tension creeps in and the stakes start to rise.

The acting is incredible-subtle, restrained, and deeply natural. It's a masterclass in quiet, grounded performance. There's a scene where the lead delivers a monologue in the tub, and it doesn't feel like she's reciting lines. We're with her in that memory. We're seeing what she saw. I got the sense that some of the film may have been improvised, but if so, it only added to the realism. The whole film has a lived-in, organic quality.

That said, a few of the smaller supporting roles toward the end didn't quite land for me and briefly took me out of the experience. And I'm still unsure what Agnes wanted-what her internal drive was. There's such beautiful artistic depth here, but I couldn't fully grasp what was pushing her forward. Then again, maybe that's the point, as hinted in the final monologue.

There's also powerful symbolism throughout. One moment that stood out was her driving, the headlights trailing behind her like a new memory that will chase her forever. Another was the way the passage of time was expressed through visual shifts, especially at the professor's home. These moments are executed with both restraint and emotional weight.

The film resists cliché. One of its most striking choices is its sense of timelessness. You can't quite place what year it's set in-there are no cell phones, the clothing is neutral, and her thesis is typed on paper rather than submitted digitally. If I had to guess, I'd say 1998. I caught a glimpse of an older New York license plate that reinforced that impression.

Ultimately, Sorry, Baby delivers a quiet but profound message about humanity: we have to be prepared to live in an imperfect world. We will get hurt-that's just part of it-but we have to find a way to keep going.

Sorry, Baby is one of the most nuanced, simple yet complex telling of the effects and aftermath of a traumatic event in the life of a bright, energetic and youthful woman. Beautifully written, directed and brought to screen with a very balanced, sensitive and realistic performance by debutant Eva Victor. The movie is truly deserving of its premiere and writing award at Sundance and being the closing movie of the director's fortnight at Cannes.

Eva Victor tells her story in a non chronological manner by moving forward and backward in time through five specific chapters representing five very different years of her life. This non linear approach highlights her emotional journey and augments the story telling significantly. The story is simple and the pace of the movie is slow but it is this slow pace and focus on the lead characters subdued emotions when alone mixed with phases of elation when in the company of her best friend that makes the movie so effective.

Eva does a brilliant job channeling the emotions of disappointment, disillusionment, isolation, grief, anxiety and anger mixed with those of hope, resilience and healing. At no point it appears that she is acting and that is what makes her performance and the movie special. Don't expect any cinematic fireworks as Eva makes the audience truly experience the lead character's emotional journey through trauma. Delicate, authentic and realistic. 8/10.