Title: Sorry, Baby
MPA Rating: R
Director: Eva Victor
Starring: Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

What It Is: Agnes (Victor) was just a college student when something very bad happened to her. Many years later, she’s now a teacher at that very same university — which, incidentally, is where the incident first began. A visit from her longtime best friend Lydie (Ackie) forces her to confront difficult questions about how she ended up where she is, and why she allowed what happened to happen. Even if, for the record, it wasn’t her fault.

What We Think: Eva Victor is going to be a phenomenal talent as her career progresses. Here, with her debut feature, she directs her own incredibly smart and emotional script. What she’s doing is genuinely impressive — the writing is sharp, and the emotion resonates throughout. You feel it in every frame. You dread when Agnes dreads, and you can sense her deep avoidance of the truth behind what happened to her. We as the audience understand it, but it’s as if Agnes herself is trying to forget it ever happened. That denial adds to the tragedy of the travesty.

Our Grade: A-, When you look at what small, personal stories can do, this is the epitome of one done right. Eva Victor’s script is the backbone here — such a well-crafted, thoughtful story. The performances are excellent, and there’s very little to criticize. That said, I don’t feel entirely comfortable dissecting certain thematic elements as a cis man, given what the film explores. Still, the narrative had me constantly wondering what Agnes was thinking from one moment to the next. I couldn’t fully put myself in her space, so a little more insight might have helped deepen that emotional connection. As it stands, though, Agnes’s standoffishness completely worked for me.