Director: Eva Victor
Cast: Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges, John Carroll Lynch, Louis Cancelmi, Kelly McCormack
Screenplay: Eva Victor
103 mins. Rated R for sexual content and language.

The new A24 film Sorry, Baby has a deceptive and cryptic marketing campaign and theatrical rollout (something not entirely new to the small, director-focused company), and now, having seen the film, I can understand how difficult a sell this film is. Writer/Director/Star Eva Victor has turned the lens on subject matter that can be quite painful and unpleasant, but she also has found her voice in eschewing the systems in place surrounding those subjects. Sorry, Baby is a daring vision that features fierce comedy in the face of horrible events.

Agnes Ward (Victor) is not doing so well. She stays in most nights, she keeps her rendezvouses with her neighbor Gavin (Lucas Hedges, Lady Bird) a secret, and often seems depressed, hiding a secret just below the surface. When her college best friend Lydie (Naomi Ackie, Mickey 17) arrives for a visit, Agnes sees the forward momentum in her friend’s life, and even though Agnes has accomplished great things, her secret hangs over her head, just behind the veil of her life.

With her combined screenplay, direction, and lead performance, Eva Victor makes Sorry, Baby into a singular vision of a near impossible feat. Her film deals with disturbing themes and horrible truths, and yet she’s able to make a movie that is quite funny as well. Victor cleverly uses comedy to highlight the absurdity of the systems that make it harder for victims to speak their truths and ask for help. She never makes light of the horrible events that occurred to Agnes, but she’s able to use comedy as a spotlight as well as stellar character development. Oftentimes, Agnes will use humor to shade her pain, and she’s quite funny. Victor’s approach is somewhat similar to Mel Brooks, in that both creatives use humor to fight back against the demons of society. Sorry, Baby does struggle in the first twenty minutes or so, but by the time the first time-jump occurs, Victor has found her footing and plays to her strengths as both a performer and director.

Victor also surrounds herself with a pretty strong group of supporting players, including Ackie, Hedges, and John Carroll Lynch (Shutter Island) who steals the show in a very minor but impactful scene as a sandwich shop owner who comes into contact with Agnes at the perfect moment. Lynch is an incredible actor who understands tone so well that he fits into Victor’s storytelling style with ease, giving a subtle, funny, and sweet character with mere minutes of screen time.

Sorry, Baby starts out a little rough, but Eva Victor’s film finds its footing quickly and delivers one of the defining films of 2025. It wrangles a difficult tone and style but Victor’s screenplay and direction handle the various elements capably as she tells a story of babies, bad things, questions, and good sandwiches. While it deals with difficult elements, it’s the way Victor chooses to tell her story that makes it so powerful and surprisingly funny at times. If nothing else, it’s a testament to the healing power of cats.

4/5
-Kyle A. Goethe