Sorry, Baby (2025)

★★★★

I put this on after seeing it on a few top-movies-of-2025 lists. I went in blind, not knowing much about the subject matter. Generally, I avoid movies about rape because it makes me sick. In my book, rape is on the level of murder. In murder or rape, the perpetrator clearly cares so little for another human being that they can take a life or destroy it.

I've been in a monogamous relationship three times in my life, and two of those women had been raped as teenagers. I recently spent time with one of the loves in my life and was told in detail what happened to her when she was 17. It broke my heart. I wanted to find this stand-in for Brett Kavanaugh and punch his face into a pulp. She still suffers from PTSD from that and a few other horrible things that have happened to her.

She has many cats, all of which have experienced significant trauma and abuse. She chooses based on how bad their trauma was (putting me to shame as I probably would choose based on how well adjusted they are). One was so abused that she couldn't stand being around people. I saw her only once, when I was allowed to see her hiding place. She refused to leave my friend's room while I was staying in her place.

She rescues, loves, and cares for these traumatized felines. Yes, they are her therapy companions, but the therapy is two-way, not one-way. She gives back what she gets from these poor souls.

When she told me her story, I said I had just watched Sorry Baby, which has an almost identical plotline to what she experienced in real life. She said she could never, ever, watch this, and I completely understood. Heck, it's hard for me to watch.

Sometimes, I'm utterly disgusted by my fellow men. I honestly believe a quarter to a third or more of those in my gender are just bad hombres, and not the kind of "bad hombre" that Benicio Del Toro calls Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another. I'm basing my estimate on colleagues and acquaintances I've made while living and travelling the world for five decades. I've just seen too much outright misogyny and narcissism.

Here's my math: two-thirds of the women in my life have experienced sexual assault. One third of the men I've met need their archaic attitude towards women reprogrammed.

So when I see the poster art with the movie's survivor looking longingly at a young cat she rescues, I see healing and hope. But it also reminds me of what so many women have to go through in a supposedly civilized society, and my soul just weeps.

I know I didn't do my usual movie analysis, but if you want my thoughts on the movie, go to Marc's lovely review here. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Watched: 2026-02-08 | View on Letterboxd