An intimate and sharply funny black comedy, Sorry, Baby is a compelling story about drive, friendship, and looking for the ground under your feet in the hardest of moments.
We need more stories about modern friendships. I can think of a few off the top of my head (like Friendship and The Room Next Door) where a romantic dynamic isn’t front and center, but I’d love to see it explored more often. There are so many nuances to friendship – there’s a lot to play with there.
Sorry, Baby is about Agnes, a university professor who has been through a traumatic experience. Visited by her former grad-school roommate and best friend, Lydie, who is recently married and beginning her life in New York, the two connect, laugh, and speak the same language.
This film is told in pieces, each separated by its own title. The first is approximately 4 years after grad school, when Lydie comes to visit Agnes in the home they shared. The second is the section where the trauma happens as well as the aftermath, and the others are progressively more current.
I really enjoyed this movie. Agnes is (often unintentionally) hilarious and the banter that is shared with Lydie is smart and raw. Among so many fantastic moments in the film, their friendship truly stuck out to me. There is something about watching someone really listen to another person. Not pass judgement or provide suggestions, just listen and affirm. Sometimes be a ride or die. It’s incredibly beautiful and I wish a friendship like this for everyone.
Eva Victor (they/them) wrote, directed, and stars as Agnes. Their ability to hold a specific tone through the film is magnificent. The film has some very dark moments, some of which make you hold your breath. There is a scene in a car where Agnes doesn’t appear to blink, at the end of which, a bright light reflection shines on Agnes’ face. At times, it feels as if the film (and Agnes’ energy) is balancing on the head of a pin – one moment funny, another heart-wrenching, and another contemplative.
Sorry, Baby also shines a huge spotlight on those people in positions of power (i.e. doctors and university representatives) who don’t know how to handle people who have just been through a traumatic experience. The ridiculousness and lack of humanity involved can be laughable when you step back from it and I loved Victor’s interpretation of it here.
This is a great film. It’s beautifully acted, maintains an unusual tone that lives somewhere between quirky, intellectual, distressing, and deep, and tells an excellent story in subtle and effective ways. I cried three times during Sorry, Baby, two of which were during a sequence with a sandwich. Watch this movie and see if it touches you the way it touched me.
Runtime: 103 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: R
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Yes, a few times
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Available:Free on Hulu and Max, torent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
We need more stories about modern friendships. I can think of a few off the top of my head (like Friendship and The Room Next Door) where a romantic dynamic isn’t front and center, but I’d love to see it explored more often. There are so many nuances to friendship – there’s a lot to play with there.
