
‘Sorry, Baby’ Review: A Compassionate, Hilarious Breakthrough Directorial Debut by Eva Victor
Feb 4, 2025
Every year at Sundance, it seems like there’s one new filmmaker who gets chosen as the promising new voice to make their debut at the festival. This is the festival that launched the careers of Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson, Jane Schoenbrun, and Darren Aronofsky, amongst many, many others. 40+ years later, it’s still introducing the world to innovative artists and the next big things. For 2025, no one has made a bigger splash at Sundance than Eva Victor. Victor has been around for a while, working as a writer, actress (most notably on Billions), and as a hilarious video creator on Twitter. But with Sorry, Baby, their feature debut as writer, director, and star, Victor has proven themselves to be an exciting new voice that movies need. And it appears A24 was listening, as the prestigious indie studio has already acquired the rights to Victor’s film.
What Is ‘Sorry, Baby’ About?
Image Via Sundance Film Festival
Victor tells the story of Sorry, Baby in chapters and slightly out of order, which feels essential for this particular story. Victor stars as Agnes, who has lived in the same New England house since grad school, which she now teaches at. Sorry, Baby begins with a visit from Agnes’ best friend Lydie (Naomi Ackie), who has moved to New York, and started a new life with her partner, and now, Lydie comes bearing news that she’s pregnant. While Lydie has moved out of the house and moved forward with her life, Agnes has remained where she’s been for years, although this choice doesn’t feel particularly of note at first.
Lydie and Agnes have a grad school reunion with the rest of their class (including a great, irritated Kelly McCormack), and upon the mention of their old professor, we can see this name has an unpleasant impact on Agnes. Victor’s film then takes us back to grad school and explores the sexual assault by her professor (Louis Cancelmi) that caused this reaction, an event that has stuck with Agnes for years. Then the film goes back to Agnes in the present and how even the smallest moment can trigger this trauma back into her mind, no matter how much she tries to avoid it.
‘Sorry, Baby’ Is Particularly Brilliant in How It Explores Difficult Issues
In their first film, Victor tackles an extremely difficult topic but does so in a natural, honest, and often humorous way. This incident is very clearly something Agnes can go about the day not thinking about, yet when it pops up in the most random ways, it understandably can’t help but be crushing. Sorry, Baby isn’t solely a film about struggling with trauma, but when it is, it brings it to life in a realistic way, where it comes as an unexpected jolt and sends you spiraling into a pit you thought you’d hopefully climbed out of.
Sorry, Baby isn’t defined by its most difficult moment, as Victor fills this film with a great love for Agnes and the community of people around her who make things easier. When Ackie’s Lydie leaves Agnes’ home to return to her partner, Agnes asks Lydie to come back soon. She reiterates that she doesn’t need her, but she’d like to see her more often. In the moment, we know that Lydie’s presence helps give Agnes solace, and their friendship is extremely charming throughout Sorry, Baby. Just Lydie simply being there for Agnes, holding her hand when she needs it, or sitting with her friend makes everything much easier for Agnes.
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While Agnes never feels like she’s fragile or ready to break because of this past incident, Sorry, Baby also has plenty of lovely moments where we see her interacting with others in a way that helps ease her when she needs it. Lucas Hedges plays Gavin, Agnes’ neighbor who she starts a relationship of sorts with. We never know if Gavin has been told what happened, but the kind way he provides comfort to Agnes is just what she needs. In another beautiful scene, Agnes has a moment with Pete (John Carroll Lynch), a sandwich shop owner who simply provides Agnes with someone to talk to and a sandwich. It’s little moments like these that show the small kindnesses that help us on a path that can often be treacherous.
Victor Is Remarkable Behind the Camera and in Front of It
Image by Jovelle Tamayo via Sundance Institute
As a first-time filmmaker, Victor takes on quite a challenging project but shows nothing but incredible handling of this subject. Not only is Sorry, Baby, with its chapters told slightly out of order, something that could be difficult when managing tone, but it also makes perfect sense in the context of the story. Victor exhibits an impressive ability to discuss these heavy topics without it ever feeling overwhelming. For example, when Agnes and Lydie go to the hospital at one point together, the pair uses humor to get through a dark moment, and similarly, Victor uses comedy to make this difficult subject go down smoother. Victor’s sense of humor fits perfectly with this topic, and the fact that they’re able to balance all of this in a feature debut is an impressive feat.
Sorry, Baby is an incredible presentation of Victor as an exciting new voice in filmmaking. Their ability to explore heavy topics in a way that isn’t oppressive, and with a screenplay that’s tender, quite funny, and necessary. Sorry, Baby is a fantastic debut that has announced Victor as one of today’s most exciting up-and-coming filmmakers.
Sorry Baby had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Sorry, Baby
Sorry, Baby, by writer-director-actor Eva Victor, is a fantastic debut from an exciting new filmmaker.
Release Date
January 27, 2025
Runtime
104 minutes
Director
Eva Victor
Writers
Eva Victor
Pros & Cons
Eva Victor’s story is a powerful narrative of trauma, the difficulty in moving forward, and the humor used to get by.
Victor turns a fairly straightforward story into a structurally unique narrative.
Victor, Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges, and the entire cast create a believable community in this excellent film.
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