Directed by: Eva Victor
Distributed by: A24
Written by Taylor Baker
72/100
Eva Victor’s directorial debut, “Sorry, Baby,” wrestles with topics that are all too common in the modern film landscape: friendships altering as you grow up, institutional power figures taking advantage of vulnerability, and processing trauma. Though these topics are fraught with overuse, Eva’s sincerity and genuineness allow this material to be repurposed in a way that is not only sincere but feels original. You can sense her authorship creating this project, and that vision allows the cohesion of those subgenres to crystallize and mean something to Agnes, the lead character that Eva plays, as well as the supporting cast around her.
Eva’s collaboration with cinematographer Mia Ciaofe Henry shines especially during the climactic sequence of the abuse that Agnes endures. Rather than bringing uncomfortable intimacy to the experience by localizing the lens on what is taking place, the camera stays outside of the house. It looks at the house and cuts. When it cuts, time has passed. All we know is that she’s still inside, and we begin to develop a sinking feeling about why she might still be inside. Because there’s enough time, we have a chance as an audience to think through the positive sequence of events that it could be and the negative sequence of events that it could be before she comes racing out the door, pulling her boots on, and briskly walking herself back to the campus where her car is parked with her shoe laces untied.
This approach, rather than the common choice of depicting the act, allows us into her frame of mind later as Agnes tries to process what has happened and how she wants to move forward. This framing is one of its smartest choices, and it shows up again later in a bit of a reversal where she’s having an intimate moment with Lucas Hedges’s Gavin in the bathtub that turns into a cathartic healing moment.
It is this deft touch, this level of sincerity, that makes Eva Victor not only a promising director but a promising writer. She doesn’t need to act in her films moving forward, but she can, and she brings a soft touch of quality to her performances. “Sorry, Baby” isn’t one of the best films of the year, but it is the first film of a talented new filmmaker that will hopefully be here for a long time.
“Sorry, Baby” Trailer
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If you’d like to learn more about Eva Victor and her new film “Sorry, Baby,” our friends over at ForReel have a brand new interview from SIFF for you below.
