Sorry, Baby

There is something especially individual about the lead characterisation here, and even though Eve Victor delivers strongly, I just didn't really engage with it. We conclude fairly swiftly that her "Agnes" has suffered some trauma in her life and that now, in her late twenties, she has taken up a professorial job in a small rural community where she seems content to live en seul. Except, that is, until her friend "Lydia" (Naomie Ackie) comes to visit. She and her new girlfriend are expecting a baby and though joyous of the news, it seems to awaken in "Agnes" an appreciation of a hitherto subdued sense of loneliness. During this visit, and thereafter, the plot dances between timelines as we learn more about both women, particularly "Agnes" and along the way are put through quite an emotional wringer. There is a degree of humour here, but it's not the giggle sort - more along the observational, story of life, line that is often quite relatable but frequently swamped in a surfeit of dialogue. It also strays into the melodramatic one too often, too - not least as it descends a little into a well of self-pity that isn't really supported by any depth of likeable characterisation. Ultimately, I think that was probably my issue with "Agnes" here. I just couldn't really empathise with her, despite the heinous nature of the incident, and though entirely justifiable, I found her just a little too self-centred. Sorry, baby, but I just felt fairly underwhelmed and uncomfortably disconnected all the way through.

Sorry, baby indeed. Such is the lot of women.

This movie is a little polarizing here, I read glowing reviews and "not that impressed" reviews. Decided to trust some and try it out. I can say now that I do understand both sides actually. It is messy. The whole thing is messy because the "thing" can only be messy so each woman is probably her own special mess in the case of the "thing".

So it's disjointed, illogical and all sorts of things, as it should. The title chapters are hilarious but they make sense. I don't really like Agnes, but I don't have to for this. I don't understand her but I am glad that I don't. The irony of those college ladies stating they understand her. The almost outraged entitlement of that doctor when confronted with unexpected answers and reactions. And the juror selection scene.

What I liked best about this movie was the meeting with the middle-aged man in the parking lot. That was the point where this movie broke me and I started sobbing uncontrollably. Something about his kindness, about his being a decent human being. Sad in a way that that would move me to such an extent. Also Agnes and the baby at the end, but maybe that man still...

Agnes (Eva Victor) is a student who experiences something bad with her professor Preston Decker (Louis Cancelmi). As she tries to heal from this she experiences many different types of relationships over the years from close ones with her friend from college Lydie (Naomi Ackie), to the saviour complex between her and a mouse that her cat Olga (Noochie the cat) brought in years later.

I won't be so arrogant as to say I understood the nuances of the film, although I recognise that Eva Victor who also wrote and directed the film, was saying something about the relationships we have with people and how the communication between us can be very different and layered. Who you are with one person is not who you are with another. There is a fluid dynamic of personality in and between relationships. I suspect that's why nabokov's book Lolita was discussed in the film: there were very different dynamics and power levels in the relationships within the story of Lolita.

It's not a film where you come out of the cinema and say "wow that was fantastic." It's more of a film you come out of the cinema and you remember lines from the film, and scenes form it for weeks, as you piece everything together and apply it to your own life. Who are you and who are the people in your life?

Victor's presence on screen is amazing and her acting skills sublime; I've never seen her before but I will certainly look at some of her other work. Her direction was amazing and not a single moment of the film was wasted. Some of the shots and scenes were pure art.

Suffice to say I loved this film and everything about it, I gave it a solid 8.

Beautiful acting by the lead, but the script lacks full development of the characters. Hard to understand main character's motivation. No development of origin. Also, she has no family. Why?

Lastly, portrayal of males was 1 dimensional and unbalanced. We see the sociopath, the nice but weak guy, the main doctor, and the strangely helpful but random older man. But we don't have the presence of one strong male in Agnes' life. That would have made this movie much better and more balanced.

Without that, you get a gut punch of having watched something really terrible happen to a nice person without any real good explanation and without enough redemption.

As such, it was unpleasant without enough redemption.

Eva Victor's story highlights Agnes's journey post a traumatic experience as life moves on. Agnes tries to move on but the trauma doesn't let her while she really is unable to take legal course of action. The story focuses on her emotional journey as she acknowledges the bad thing that happened to her and tries hard to live with it. The world is such, thet bad things just happen and it is never easy being a woman in the said world.

This is the kind of film that rendered me speechless. It started off casually with an overdose of the F words which helped showcase Agnes's bond with Lydie. But the 5 minute scene of her confiding to Lydie over what really happened, made me sit up. What followed next was simply terrific piece of writing and execution. Eva brought Agnes's character alive and her way of dealing with what happened was simply holding a mirror to us, the viewers. This is not the film about Agnes fighting for justice but a film about her fight to survive, move on and worse, accept the bad thing. The way she pushes herself to learn to live with it, was indeed a tough watch.

What makes the screenplay terrific is how Eva Victor tries to insert humor into the narrative. I felt sad with Agnes while having a chuckle now and then despite the grim moments. She really struggles to get on with her life and hyperventilates, which is a normal thing that one expects from her. Then the narrative shifts to showcasing that the bad thing just happens and Agnes has to live with it, leaving us the audience to accept the very thing as normal. It's infuriating to feel the helplessness of the character but also hold onto the hope of her pulling through. The rest of us are like Pete, while the countless Agnes' are made to move on with their lives and apologizing for the world we have created.