When introducing the Sundance winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: US Dramatic, Heidi Zwicker wrote, “In an aching and tender debut feature, writer-director Eva Victor displays a tremendous specificity of voice, depicting graduate student-turned-professor Agnes with sensitivity and emotional clarity both before and after her trauma. Infusing the character’s sardonic wit into its cinematic language of isolation and confusion, Sorry, Baby uses its nonlinear formal structure and five-year duration to capture the complexities and inconsistencies, triumphs and setbacks of Agnes’ attempts to heal.”

We’re going to hone in on that “specificity of voice” as we analyze this screenplay because Sorry, Baby shows how a writer can and should explore what makes their art uniquely special. In an overinundated world, it is the writer’s ingenuity and specificity that will help their art be seen.

Sorry, Baby premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and was released by A24 before celebrating a glimmering award-winning run. It is a triumphant announcement of writer, director, and star Eva Victor as a talent we can only hope to see more great things from.

Let’s get into why this film is so special.

OPENING IMAGE

The texture of Victor’s film begins in the very first line: The CRUNCH of a car driving on a snowy road. While Sorry, Baby will go on to play with chronology while telling the story, nearly every scene takes place in the sharp cold of the North Eastern United States.

Before we meet the characters, we are introduced to the delineation of time with the super: “THE YEAR WITH THE BABY.”

And while the film’s loglines and synopses focus on Agnes’ grief after “something bad” happens to her, I’d argue this is also a film about friendship between Agnes and Lydie, who, with many, many exclamation points, are very excited to see each other again.

In their first scene together, Victor gives us so many delicious treats. Not only is the friendship between Lydie and Agnes easy and unfiltered, but Victor has planted a seed about this cottage when Lydie remarks that Agnes still lives here. Victor is subtly paving the way for the journey we will all take together into the past, right here in this location, where Agnes remains while Lydie, we will learn, has moved on.

In short succession, we meet Agnes’ neighbor, Gavin, whom Lydie suspects Agnes is sleeping with; we learn that Lydie is pregnant; and we meet a character named Pete in what has become a deleted scene, for Victor rightly realized during the edit of the film that Pete’s character appearance is stronger when he appears just the one time later in the film.

The girls go to a dinner party with some of their friends from graduate school. The social dynamics here are sublime, particularly with the host, Natasha (described as “smart, wants you to know it”). And it is here that we really get the inkling that something happened, something painful, something at school.

I don’t mean to linger too long on one scene, but I love how Victor demonstrates Lydie’s loyalty and protectiveness here for Agnes. We’ll see this side of Lydie again — but for the moment, how lucky is Agnes to have someone to advocate for her.

But the question for the audience remains: why? What happened to Agnes?

And with that question in mind, we move on to “THE YEAR WITH THE BAD THING.”

INCITING INCIDENT

Agnes, Lydie, and the dinner party friends are graduate students working on their literary theses. Through Natasha’s not subtle competitive drive and blunt mannerisms, we glean that Agnes is a favorite for their professor, Decker. In fact, we learn, he calls her work “extraordinary.” He actually does this in a text message, which should raise a red flag.

Lydie and Agnes discuss their teacher, who is young, male, handsome, intelligent; in fact, Lydie tells Agnes she thinks Agnes should f*** Decker.

As the girls process this possibility, Agnes determines that she would be upset if Decker actually asked to sleep with her, but, strangely, also flattered. She finally decides she’d say, “No, but thank you.”

And at this moment in time, in the little living room of their cottage at grad school, this is a safe hypothetical to explore amongst friends.

In the next scene, Agnes meets with Decker in his office. In sly ways, Victor shows us the cracks in his paint. Decker may be in a position of authority, but he doesn’t really have it together. He’s unprepared, he’s disparaging towards his own work, he’s interrupted by his kid (an eight year old whom he calls a dick) falling sick and his ex is unable to pick him up from school. Decker bungles himself out of the meeting and asks to reschedule.

When Agnes next arrives for the rescheduled meeting, Decker isn’t in his office. Instead, he texts her and asks her to meet him at his house.

Victor does not make us watch “the bad thing” — instead, we remain outside the house, a growing pit in our stomach. Agnes emerges in shock. We still don’t precisely know. She manages to make it home where Lydie notices immediately that something is wrong. Agnes answers with a mind in shock: “My pants are broken.”

In the next scene, Agnes sits in the bathtub while Lydie sits on the toilet and listens while Agnes recounts how Decker sexually assaulted her. Victor does not use the words “sexual assault” or “rape” — neither do Lydie and Agnes. But they know. And now, we know.

FUN AND GAMES

The “fun and games” of Sorry, Baby is not really fun, especially not for Agnes, who must process and recover from what happened to her. Lydie remains a steadfast friend, helping Agnes to dress, calmly accepting it when Agnes shows up with a kitten from the street, and even offering to kill Decker.

In the doctor’s office, Victor provides a near caricature of the kind of medical experience many victims of sexual assault are subjected to. The (male) doctor all but scolds Agnes for taking a bath between her assault and coming in. He’s blunt, cold. He tells her to “calm down.”

And amazing Lydie is there to advocate for her.

Victor depicts the small moments of life after trauma. Agnes struggles to sleep. She checks and rechecks the locks on her doors, no longer feeling safe in her home. She is suddenly aware of how vulnerable her windows make her feel and she uses her marked-up thesis to tape them up.

She reports the attack to the university, and here again Victor delivers an excellent caricature of how people of authority revert to protecting institutions instead of people. This scene is interspliced with another deleted scene with some guys playing hacky sack outside the office. Victor stated that she’d originally wanted the audience to have a break…but then realized in the edit that she couldn’t let Agnes have a break, and therefore, the audience couldn’t have one either.

And so, Agnes is stuck facing off against two women who simply don’t want to be bothered with this whole mess. Decker has run from the situation, and Agnes doesn’t see how she will get any justice.

Agnes seriously considers setting fire to Decker’s office. She even borrows fire starting materials from her new neighbor, Gavin. Lydie is ready to back her up. Even here in this moment, Victor offers great character moments that are endearing and unexpected. Stalwart Lydie is gonna support Agnes, and Agnes’ is going to earnestly try to find her way through.

MIDPOINT

“THE YEAR WITH THE QUESTIONS”

The next year, Agnes is still hurting and now she finds herself in a position where she has to publicly acknowledge to strangers what happened to her. In a great jury duty scene, Agnes is asked if she’s ever been the victim of a crime and if the experience would make her unable to serve as an impartial juror.

This scene is so sublime, especially in the final film, because the lawyer questioning Agnes — a woman — is the first authority figure to see what happened, to really understand what happened, and to gently support Agnes. I got the sense that this lawyer wanted to go persecute Decker on Agnes’ behalf. In that moment, all she could do, however, was affirm that Agnes was not the one who had done something wrong, and excuse her from jury duty.

And that’s it from that year.

Onto “THE YEAR WITH THE SANDWICH.”

BAD TO WORSE

Agnes is going through the motions. She has been working as a part-time professor at the university and her students — and former faculty — give glowing reviews, including…painfully…describing Agnes as “extraordinary.” She is unanimously promoted to a full time position. She’s having safe if not mind-blowing sex with Gavin.

And in a brilliant scene, we get a glimpse at both Agnes’ teaching style (very intelligent and observant, just like Victor) and a catch up with the ever kooky Natasha.

It is so subtle and amusing and layered to have a student say, “That lady is back.” Natasha, girl, you are crazy. I love it. But, in addition to being a little dose of comedic relief, Natasha is also someone who serves as a foil to Agnes’ delicately built shields.

Natasha is blunt in her mannerisms. In Agnes’ new office — Decker’s old office — Natasha states that she’d wanted Agnes’ job. She accuses Agnes of taking something just because it came easy to her. And then Natasha tells Agnes that she, Natasha, had slept with Decker.

This bursts a damn for Agnes. She experiences a panic attack driving home and pulls over, only to be berated by a man outside her window telling her she can’t park there. He is Pete, and this is the first time Agnes meets him — and, due to great editing in the final film, the first time the audience meets him as well.

He quickly recognizes that she is having a panic attack and he helps her breathe and regulate her system. Then, he offers her a sandwich from his shop.

In the next scene, the two sit outside, comfortable space between them, eating sandwiches. Agnes is able to speak a bit about what happened to her and how she still isn’t really doing well. Pete reminds her that three years is not that long of a time. He asks her if she’s safe. He tells her he’ll make her a sandwich any time.

ALL IS LOST

Late one night, Agnes awakes to find that her cat has brought an injured mouse into her bed. Agnes cannot escape this horror show. The mouse is in her bed. It’s suffering. The only thing she can think to do is give it a mercy kill. It’s brutal. She delivers the killing blows with Decker’s book.

In the next scene, she’s hauling ass to Gavin’s house, asking him to come bang her. She’s able to orgasm “for the first time in a long time.” They bathe together. It…isn’t quite right. Gavin isn’t quite right. Agnes feels sad realizing this, but in a way, it’s right. He’s been what she needed to move through healing.

And then it’s time to return to “THE YEAR WITH THE BABY.”

FINALE

Lydie and her wife Fran and their newborn daughter arrive at the cottage. It’s the first time they’ve seen each other since the birth — which Agnes attended. Progress!

Agnes isn’t quite sure how to interact with the baby. This new little person is sort of an intrusion, actually. They were all supposed to go see a lighthouse, but the baby hasn’t slept and her parents realize someone has to stay behind and take care of her.

In a moment of maturity, Agnes decides to give Lydie and Fran what they need — a babysitter and a few hours together at a lighthouse.

Fran isn’t so sure, but Lydie trusts Agnes. She knows Agnes will step up. Everyone learns how to take care of a baby by taking care of a baby.

It’s awkward at first. Agnes fumbles through talking to this little human. But eventually she gets into a stride, apologizing for the bad things that will inevitably happen in the child’s life, but promising to be there for her no matter what.