15/09/25

Filmhouse, Edinburgh

Brand new membership cards tucked into our phones, we’re back at the Filmhouse, ready to watch the much-talked-about Sorry, Baby – the debut feature from writer-director Eva Victor. 

Victor also plays the protagonist, Agnes, a college teacher struggling with the aftermath of being raped by their professor (Louis Cancelmi). Their fiercely protective best friend, Lydie (Naomi Ackie), provides emotional support, as does their gentle neighbour, Gavin (Lucas Hedges). 

The plot is simple, but the structure is as complex as Agnes’s emotions, dropping us into the middle of the story before taking us back and then forward in time. This is film-making of the highest order, assured and nuanced, highlighting the myriad moments that mark Agnes’s darkest hours as well as their recovery. Sometimes, it’s as little as a sandwich from a stranger (John Carroll Lynch). Sometimes, it’s as consequential as officials assiduously avoiding blame.

At first, I find the dialogue a little mannered, but I soon settle into its rhythms as it becomes clear that the brittleness is part of Agnes’s reaction to The Bad Thing that happened to them. They’re not broken by it, but they are changed. Lydie takes her lead from Agnes, responding in kind, the very best of supportive pals.

Victor’s focus on what happens next – the fallout rather than the assault itself – is what makes this movie. It feels realistic, a complicated tangle of okay and not-okay. They don’t go to the police but they do report the attack to HR. Their academic ambition is uncurbed – they still pursue a professorship in the same college – but there are also panic attacks and a sense of being stuck. Their healing is incremental. These things take time.

There is some clever direction here: the exterior shot with its changing light representing the assault; the stilted quietude of the university hearing. Victor is utterly beguiling as the gauche Agnes, as vulnerable as they are fierce, as indomitable as they are hurt. Ably supported by Ackie and Hedges, Victor disarms us with an unflinchingly honest portrayal of violation and recovery.

Victor’s comedic talents are also brought into play, leavening the movie with humour, both deadpan and farcical. Standouts include a droll encounter between a supermarket employee and a cat, and Kelly McCormack’s glorious portrayal of the prickly Natasha, her outrageous grievances and jealousy writ large on her expressive face.

In an era of sequels and AI assimilations, it’s a joy to discover a truly original voice like Victor’s. For all its thorniness, Sorry, Baby is a breath of the very freshest New England air.

4.8 stars

Susan Singfield