Sorry, Baby, a debut movie from director Eva Victor, who also wrote the screenplay and plays the main character, begins as if it's going to be one of those indie efforts that load up on bright characters who are meant to be amusing, but who often prove annoying.
To be sure, Sorry Baby casts an indie spell, but Victor has something more complicated in mind; she delivers a series of small scenes, some including humor, that revolve around a large issue: the sexual assault of a student by a professor.
Victor portrays Agnes, a graduate student whose thesis adviser (Louis Cancelmi) has praised her extraordinary writing. But he's one of those professors who shares too much, making sure to mention his ex-wife and the sick child he has to pick up from daycare.
In a smartly designed scene, Victor stations her camera outside the professor's house, holding the view through various times of the day. When Agnes emerges, we know that she's gotten more than a one-on-one tutorial.
Allowing a pivotal moment to unfold beyond view might seem gimmicky, but Victor makes it feel natural, perhaps as an act of courtesy. She's not going to exploit the situation or rub our noses in it. It's not the moment but the aftermath that interests her.
The movie, which unfolds in segments that move back and forth in time during a five-year span, watches Agnes try to cope with traumatic kickback, the way it triggers disturbing memories, becomes a signpost her friends recognize, and explains references to suicidal thoughts.
In a finely written and well-played scene, Agnes tells her lesbian roommate Lydie (Naomi Ackie) what happened to her, making it clear that the assault in Sorry, Baby has none of the earmarks of dark-alley violence. It takes place in the professor's home and presumably gets mixed in with the tutorial we never see.
It took me a while to get in synch with Victor's performance. Smart, witty, and a bit gangly, Agnes doesn't display the immediate charm of a typical movie character.
Victor defines the supporting cast mostly in terms of their relationship with Agnes. Lively and self-assured, Ackie plays a devoted friend who has a life of her own life. John Carroll Lynch shows up as the kindly owner of a sandwich shop who encounters Agnes while she’s in the middle of an anxiety attack. Kelly McCormack adds satirical bite as an obnoxious graduate student who's envious of Agnes's success.
Lucas Hedges makes the most out of a small role as Agnes's neighbor and occasional sexual partner.
I'm a bit fearful about making the movie sound like a manual on recovery. Agnes is damaged by the assault, but her life continues and Victor delivers a message about coping in a touching soliloquy Agnes offers to Lydie’s baby during an extended visit.
So how can one live in a world in which pain is unavoidable? When Lydie accompanies Agnes on a doctor's visit after the assault, a clueless male doctor makes it clear that he has no idea how to deal with them. Agnes and Lydie appreciate the ridiculousness of trying to follow form when discussing something that resists procedural analysis.
Perhaps the awareness that allows Agnes to step outside the situation is the quality that enables her to continue to be herself when, as the movie might put it, "bad" things happen.
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