Sorry, Baby

When we experience a traumatic tragedy, we often cant fathom how were going to respond to it. Some reactions may follow expected patterns. But others may come across as wholly unpredictable, in large part because we dont quite know what to make of them ourselves. That can become considerably more complicated when we dont even know how to speak about them, to find the words to sufficiently express our feelings. And, when you combine all of these elements, you have the basis for the quandary faced by unnerved protagonist Agnes Ward (actor-writer-director Eva Victor in her debut feature). The film, told in a series of time-shuffled chapters over the course of several years, follows the troubling experience of a graduate student/professor (Vict...

There is something especially individual about the lead characterisation here, and even though Eve Victor delivers strongly, I just didnt really engage with it. We conclude fairly swiftly that her Agnes has suffered some trauma in her life and that now, in her late twenties, she has taken up a professorial job in a small rural community where she seems content to live en seul. Except, that is, until her friend Lydia (Naomie Ackie) comes to visit. She and her new girlfriend are expecting a baby and though joyous of the news, it seems to awaken in Agnes an appreciation of a hitherto subdued sense of loneliness. During this visit, and thereafter, the plot dances between timelines as we learn more about both women, particularly Agnes and along ...