 "‘Sorry, Baby’ Movie Review: Eva Victor’s film is a slow burn on healing")
The opening scene of Sorry, Baby shows when Agnes’ (Eva Victor) best friend and apartment mate Lydie (Naomi Ackie) who has moved to New York, comes to visit her in an unnamed New England liberal arts college where Agnes now teaches as a full-time faculty. There is a scene that follows right after that where there is a kind of informal reunion with other friends who studied together in the same college. There is a particular friend, Natasha (Kelly McCormack) who is extremely insecure and just doesn’t like Agnes and is extremely jealous about her. The reason we get to know right at the end of the film.
I somehow feel that this is such a good film, that movies like this must be made more accessible to cinema lovers and not be confined only at film festivals. Not just critics, Sorry, Baby is a kind of alternative cinema which is not popular that everybody needs to be exposed to. It is so close to reality that will make you think throughout the day after watching it.
The minute details, the harsh winters, the breath-taking landscapes and the story which is the hero has been beautifully captured in the film. The most remarkable bit of the film is the aesthetics: starting from the college quarter rooms, to the cottages in the neighbourhood and the people. It is all so artistically weaved together that not even for a moment will you get distracted from the screen.
You will be absorbed in each and every scene of Sorry, Baby that folds and is consumed in such a way that you keep you thinking throughout the day. The one thing that will make you question that most is how are PhD scholars made? Are the guides good mentors? Are they really reliable? Or are they just looking for an opportunity to use their power to abuse you both physically and mentally?
What we understand from the film, though the sex scenes weren’t shown, is that Agnes (Eva Victor) doesn’t even realise that she is being assaulted. Agnes was attracted to her guide, but she wasn’t ready for sex. When she was called to his house for the assessment of her thesis, little did she know what she was heading for. I would say, the darkest scene was how hurriedly Agnes leaves the house in total haze. The movie doesn’t tell us anything, but we do realise what happened behind closed doors of the house.
After coming out of the cottage of her guide she was completely devastated, she drove back and narrated the entire incident, bit by bit to her best friend who then took her to the hospital the following day. Though she took back the police complaint, the incident left a scar in her life and she was never able to get over it. Her friend moving to New York, added to her sadness.
The best thing about Sorry, Baby is that it shows the impact of the assault, without any dramatization. There is nothing that is over the top. The film moves back and forth in time and leaves a lasting impact in your mind that is so deep that you keep thinking about it even after you left the cinema hall. Sorry, Baby is a kind of movie that has a way of playing with the human mind. Though the pace is slow, it is extremely immersive and never loses its anchorage slowly tracking the time that passes by.
Rating: 3 and half out of 5
Sorry, Baby is currently running in theatres
WATCH the trailer of Sorry, Baby here:
Lachmi Deb Roy is the Entertainment Editor of Firstpost, Network18. She reviews films and series with a gender lens. She is a 'Rotten Tomatoes' certified critic. Her interviews are called 'Not Just Bollywood' because she takes a huge interest in world cinema. She has been the winner of the prestigious Laadli Media and Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity for two consecutive years, 2020 and 2021. OTT over theatrical releases is her preference unless and until it's a King Khan film. She takes interest in fashion, food and art reviews too.