Sorry, Baby Review: Eva Victor Pulls Triple Duty in Powerful Story

Eva Victor puts in the challenging task of directing/writing/acting in 'Sorry, Baby', a film all about a heartbreaking event that occurs to the main character.

Synopsis:

"Something terrible happened to Agnes (Victor). But life goes on for everyone else. When a friend (Naomi Ackie) visits on the brink of an important milestone, Agnes realizes how stuck she's been, in this bittersweet story of finding your way after your world comes crashing down."

Cast:

Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges, Kelly McCormack, John Caroll Lynch

Release Date: Streaming on Digital Now

Eva Victor Pulls Off Almost Impossible Task

Credit: A24

I just want everyone reading this to really appreciate how challenging it is to do what Eva Victor did in this film. First, writing a story worthy enough to be picked up by a film studio and told on the big screen. Second, directing that same story and making sure everything on paper clicks in the film format. Lastly, acting as the main character and portraying a wide range of emotions throughout the runtime. If that wasn't enough, this was Victor's debut in acting/writing and their first notable film role. They were able to somehow do all three at the same time and make a film worthy of praise like Sorry, Baby is.

When looking at the filmmaking side of things, I really appreciate how personal Victor made this story feel. The way it's told makes it feel really human and grounded, even if a member of the audience may not directly see themselves in any of the main characters. But the story will hit home with anyone who watches and especially with those who sadly can relate to the trauma that the main character experiences. Their directing style was a real comfort and again allowed for this story to feel as personal as possible. It's very subtle the way some scenes are shot, but they are clearly shot in a way that allows for us as an audience to get invested in the story. For a directorial debut, this was very impressive.

Then talking about their acting in the film, it's also just as strong as the filmmaking elements. Although a lot of this movie doesn't ask Victor to go full out emotional, they still are able to really sell you when it comes to the more basic scenes. It may seem like this is a simple and straightforward acting performance due to the simplicity of Victor's character at points, but it's really the opposite. Their character is clearly very socially awkward and is trying to figure themself out, a personality that takes a lot of skill to actually sell on screen. Then when there is the one scene where they really let their emotions out, they play it out in a devastating way that really breaks down your perception of their character. This was a phenomenal acting performance which only gets more impressive when you consider it was done at the same time as directing/writing.

Exploring Themes of Trauma

Credit: A24

This film centers around a really sensitive theme in sexual violence towards women and I think they did a really good job tackling it in a detailed way. The thing about Sorry, Baby is that it's narrative on sexual assault is not right in your face or easy to unpack immediately. The story begins before you learn what has happened to Victor's character and once you do learn of this very traumatic event that has happened in their life, you slowly begin to understand everything that's come before. There's no intense or emotional scene until the very end, where our main character just breaks down based on a conversation she has with one of the side characters. This choice really works because it trusts the audience to understand the emotional weight of the story without making it super obvious and up front. Although you do understand how serious the event that has occurred is, Victor tells it in a really slow and careful way that I think really worked for this movie. It's a complex telling of trauma and I give a lot of credit to Victor as a filmmaker for crafting it in an excellent way.

Standout Supporting Performances

Credit: A24

Although Victor is the well and true standout for this film, it does feature a couple really good supporting performances as well. We have to start with Naomi Ackie, who is slowly becoming one of my favorite up-and-coming actresses after her performances in films like Mickey 17 and now this. Her character coming into the story at the beginning is what allows Victor to really unlock and unpack their trauma. There's a lot of really personal and emotional scenes between Victor/Ackie where I really appreciated Ackie's in depth performance. One of the things I really appreciate about her as an actor is the way she's able she's able to have amazing chemistry with basically everybody she acts alongside. In this case it's her friendly and warm chemistry with Victor's character that allows her character to be really enjoyable.

Although he only had really one scene, John Caroll Lynch's performance also really stuck out to me. He's the one who's really able to calm Victor's character down after her emotional breakdown and then the two of them have a complex talk about the trauma that's weighing on our main character. Caroll Lynch gives a lot of outstanding line deliveries and I love how his character was able to move the plot forward in a really welcoming way. He's just a random stranger to Victor, but in a way his demeanor helps her in a way that she really needed. Again it's only one extended scene but it's definitely one of my favorites in the whole film and there's some really powerful quotes in there.

Slower and More Basic Plot

Credit: A24

Although this film is really great in a lot of aspects, the reality is that it's told in a very slow manner. The plot is also generally very basic and doesn't have many layers to it. Now, do I mean this is a bad thing or something that took me out of the film? No. However, it does limit the rating that I decided to give it once the credits rolled. Not that films like this can't be a 4.5 or 5 star, but this one was just a bit too slow at points to really maximize it's success. I think there's one act in this, titled "The Year With The Questions", that could have been shortened or honestly removed entirely to make the story more streamlined. Trust me, I get the reasoning for that scene being in there, but it just slightly started to lose me. Once we got past that I truly enjoyed everything else but there were slower moments like that where I just would've done things differently. Overall though, I really don't have any problems with this film.

Final Thoughts

Sorry, Baby features a real standout directorial debut from Eva Victor and a personal story that will make your eyes water. It's not got the crazy action like some of the other 2025 blockbusters, but I really appreciated the more simple narrative throughout the runtime and it definitely is one of my favorite films of this year so far. Go see this movie!

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Note: I only included the top 20 out of the 55 2025 new releases that I've seen so far this year, for editing purposes.