Sorry, Baby (2025)
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2025-09 to 2026-08
A reclusive college literature professor struggles with the aftermath of a sexual assault while navigating her career and personal life.
The story
Agnes Ward is a graduate student in English at Fairport, a liberal arts college in rural Belfast, Maine. Following a traumatic encounter with her professor, Preston Decker, Agnes finds herself struggling with depression and the complexities of her situation. After Decker resigns, the college's disciplinary team informs her they cannot take action against him. As Agnes navigates her internal turmoil, she takes in a stray kitten and faces the reality of her circumstances. The story explores her journey through the following years as she navigates her role at the college and her evolving relationships in the face of her past trauma.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Agnes Ward, a graduate student at Fairport in rural Maine, is part of a doctoral study group. After being praised by her professor, Preston Decker, she is invited to his home but leaves in a traumatized state, later confessing to her friend Lydie that he raped her. Following Decker's resignation, the college refuses to punish him. Agnes takes in a kitten named Olga and contemplates, but ultimately decides against, retaliating against Decker. Years later, Agnes is called for jury duty and is dismissed after admitting she cannot be impartial. Three years after the assault, she accepts a full-time teaching position at Fairport in Decker's former office. She later encounters a jealous peer, Natasha, who reveals she had a consensual affair with Decker. Agnes experiences a panic attack but finds solace in a local shop owner. She begins a relationship with a neighbor, Gavin, who seeks a deeper commitment. Finally, her friend Lydie returns from New York with her new daughter, Jane. Agnes cares for the child, offering her words of comfort about the complexities of the world.
- First release year
- 2025
- Runtime (minutes)
- 103
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Eva Victor
- Writers
- Eva Victor · writer
- Cast and characters
- Eva Victor; Naomi Ackie; Louis Cancelmi; Kelly McCormack; Lucas Hedges; John Carroll Lynch
- Genres
- black comedy; drama
- Themes
- post-traumatic stress; institutional failure; healing; female friendship
- Tone and mood
- tragicomedy
- Setting
- Fairport, a liberal arts college in rural Belfast, Maine.
- Premise and plot tags
- academic setting; trauma recovery; small town life
- Reception
- The film received widespread critical acclaim and was ranked as one of the best movies of the 2020s by IndieWire.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 90 · scale: 100 · review count: 36
- Awards and nominations
- Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award · Screenwriting · win; Best Directorial Debut · Directorial Debut · win; Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama · Golden Globe Awards · nomination; Best Original Screenplay · Critics' Choice Awards · nomination
- Production trivia
- A24 acquired distribution rights for $8 million after a bidding war.; The film was the closing film of the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.; The production was filmed in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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