Sorry, Baby is the type of film women shouldn’t have to write, with the types of tragedies we shouldn’t have to face. But Eva Victor takes control of it and gives us a film that is equal parts beautiful and disconcerting, and the writer/director/star crafts a story that sticks with you for how it balances humor and somberness. What ends up on the screen is a somewhat humorous irreverence.

In life, bad things happen. You can categorize yourself as “before the bad thing happened” and “after the bad thing happened.” The hardest part is figuring out how to move on with it, since it becomes an inexorable part of you. That is what Agnes (Victor) has to do following a sexual assault. The nonlinear film itself is broken up into chapters of Agnes’s life, which gives the viewer a greater sense of the monumental obstacles she has to face in the years following the assault.

The story, however, begins in the present, where Agnes is reconnecting with an old college friend Lydie (Naomi Ackie), who shares that she is pregnant. While this chapter of her life is mostly filled with sun-drenched reminiscence rife with witty jokes, it really hides the sharp edge of the story.

In the next chapter, we see Agnes and Lydie at college taking the same writing course. It is clear that their professor, Preston Decker (Louis Cancelmi) has taken an interest in Agnes. From the outside, it seems normal, if a little bit odd. However, as their story progresses, Decker invites Agnes to his house to discuss her thesis. In a quietly suffocating time lapse, we understand, before Agnes even tells Lydie later on, what has happened.

Healing, like the story, is not linear

Victor takes control of this narrative with a deft hand. She weaves a tragic event with humor, the kind that is used as a shield to protect yourself. The moment of Agnes revealing to Lydie what happened is perhaps one of the most powerful moments of the film. Victor’s halting, unsure delivery of the assault is so real that it takes your breath away. The static shot of her retelling the events lets the viewer feel the unfolding horror the way Agnes must have. Lydie is a comforting presence, as she is for much of the film. That does not mitigate the horror itself, however.

Alongside Ackie, we get great performances out of Lucas Hedges, Agnes’s neighbor Gavin, and a to-be-expected standout appearance from John Carroll Lynch as Pete, a gruff sandwich shop owner. These two men are important in Agnes’s tale of recovery.

Victor takes what could be any other run-of-the-mill story and makes it stand out. She uses humor as shield and weapon, and her own performance is as nuanced and layered as they come. These types of stories, unfortunately, are far too commonplace, but Victor manages to give us one that will not be so easily forgotten.

We also cannot forget the cat, of course. Agnes is spiraling in the wake of her assault when she finds the cat. Though at first hesitant, she immediately bonds with it. It is, in essence, her own baby.

The film ends with Agnes babysitting Lydie’s baby when she and her partner Fran (E.R. Fightmaster) go out. Though clearly initially uncomfortable, Agnes gradually slips into ease with the baby. There is something to be sad about her tenderness with the vulnerable creatures in the world, a world which did not treat her with tenderness. She apologizes to the baby for the world, and vows to protect them as much as she can. Much like breaking the cycle, Agnes is hyperaware of the wrongs the baby will face.

Sorry, Baby is a film that sticks in your throat long after the credits have rolled. It’s an incredibly strong debut from Victor, and surely a promise of what else the triple threat has to offer.

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