Eva Victor wrote, directed and stars in Sorry, Baby, a film that is about survival after trauma unlike you have seen before. In their script, they have mixed the drama with the comedy – not slap stick comedy, but rather dark comedy because of the trauma Agnes (Eva Victor) has endured while in grad school. The film does not start out with the trauma and does not seem to be anything dramatic, until later in the film. Agnes is doing her best to get beyond the negative experience they have had with their professor, Decker (Louis Cancelmi).
The film begins as Agnes is now a tenured professor and is preparing to welcome her close friend, Lydie (Naomi Ackie). Lydie is joyful to visit and give Agnes the news of her pregnancy. After the initial joy and camaraderie, there is the topic of grad school days and the trauma of how Professor Decker acted inappropriately. Slowly through the film we see how Agnes has lived after trauma.
During the black comedy/drama, they include humor while showing some of what Agnes has experienced after the trauma while talking to doctors, representatives of authority from the school and others that are more cause for anxiety. Victor’s humor reflected in prior work to this feature film shines through even in the most emotional scenes.
I am a fan of Lucas Hedges and have seen some of his prior work. He is excellent as a neighbor to Agnes, Gavin. He is excellent as he tries to support her needs and requests. He interprets her interest one way, talks about it and yet, it is not in the cards for them.
One of my favorite characters in the film is a jealous fellow student, Natasha (Kelly McCormack, Another Simple Favor, Problemista, “A League of Their Own” TV series), who is impressive in her performance and earns laughs from the audience. It is hard to refrain from sharing a spoiler, but I certainly want to see her in future films, given her scene stealing turn.
Source: A24
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