by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: $15.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Louis Cancelmi, Kelly McCormack, Lucas Hedges, John Carroll Lynch
Intro:
… poignant, well-observed and witty; a very human exploration of trauma done in an unusually gentle and kind way.
Films about trauma are a dime a dozen these days. Hell, even films that purport to be about other things – like spooky ghosts and/or demons – are very often allegories for the effects of traumatic events on people’s psyches. Usually, these films are wrenching, disturbing and not much fun, no matter how good they are. Sorry, Baby is one of those rare films that deals with themes of trauma head on, yet somehow… never feels like a dirge.
In fact, it could be the world’s first cosy trauma film.
Sorry, Baby is the story of Agnes (Eva Victor), a young professor at liberal arts college, Fairpoint, in New England. When we first meet her, she’s welcoming her bestie, Lydie (Naomi Ackie), over for a visit and we soon get the sense that Agnes is dealing with an event from a few years earlier that had a major impact on her life. An event involving literature professor Preston Decker (Louis Cancelmi). We soon move back and forth in time in a series of moving, lowkey vignettes that help us better understand who Agnes is and what happened to her.
It’s fair to say that Sorry, Baby is an unusual viewing experience. Agnes is a passive person to an occasionally frustrating degree, and we later learn that she was like that before anything even happened to her. She’s just a very unassuming, mousey type, which unfortunately makes her easy prey for dodgy wankers. However, the film is utterly disinterested in a narrative of heroes and villains, instead opting to tell a subtle, nuanced story in which you begin to see a certain strength and beauty in Agnes’ minor triumphs and slow journey towards healing.
Of course, the entire film would collapse if not for a strong lead performance, and happily Eva Victor manages to write, direct and star superbly well. Agnes is such a beautifully realised character that she feels like someone you know, a friend of a friend, which makes you really root for her to get better. The support cast is also excellent with Naomi Ackie and Louis Cancelmi doing fine work and Kelly McCormack genuinely hilarious as Agnes’ frenemy, Natasha. Oh, and John Carroll Lynch absolutely kills in a one scene cameo. Truly a superb character actor.
On the downside, this is a film that won’t be for everyone. It’s slow, quiet and at times a bit precious. This is very much a Gen-Z film and unless you’re able to get with its downbeat rhythms and minimal plot momentum, you might find yourself checking your watch (because you’re old and you wear watches). If you can get over that low wall, however, Sorry, Baby is poignant, well-observed and witty; a very human exploration of trauma done in an unusually gentle and kind way.
