At the end of the year, there are certain accolades and acknowledgments that specifically spotlight, independent films. They include the Gotham Awards and the Spirit Awards. This film got nominated for two Gotham Awards, including Best Original Screenplay. It also got listed for four Spirit Awards, including Best Feature. It won the Waldo Salt Award at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, which is a prize for screenwriting. This film also made the Top 10 at the National Board of Review. It got named for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama. With all of that recognition, it definitely makes this title worth examining.
Eva Victor (they/them) stars as Agnes Ward, a graduate student who is studying to be an English professor at the same school where she is currently studying, somewhere in New England. The film follows her over the course of four years. It starts out in the present after Agnes has finished school and is currently working. It then jumps back about three years to show her still in school, and working with her advisor on writing her thesis.
The baby in the title isn't just an expression. The titular baby is a real thing. Naomi Ackie (Micky 17 and Blink Twice) co-stars as Lydie, the best friend to Agnes. Lydie is a Black lesbian who has been artificially inseminated. She's pregnant and is going to have a child. Lydie went to the same graduate school as Agnes. They were classmates and even roommates. Lydie moved away to New York City after finishing university. Yet, Agnes stayed. Agnes lives in a house that's remote, lying in the middle of some woods. Yet, she and Lydie are so bonded that Lydie doesn't mind driving up to visit.
The two bonded and probably would have been bonded either way, but, as the film progresses, it's clear that the two have been bonded due to them experiencing a trauma together. Specifically, Agnes experienced the trauma. She then tells Lydie about it and Lydie is there to support her. Obviously, a lot of this film is Agnes dealing with this trauma in her own way, some of it using deadpan or dry humor, and having to move on from it, or having been changed by it, which makes moving on impossible. However, the film is also about female friendship, and how Agnes relies or needs her friend, as well as what good support looks like.
Lucas Hedges (Lady Bird and Manchester By the Sea) rounds out the cast as Gavin, the neighbor to Agnes. He lives in a house that's also in the woods. He becomes a love interest for Agnes. He's very much similar to her in terms of his awkwardness. He probably lives in the woods for a reason. He's not as social. He's socially awkward in many ways. Agnes is probably less so, but their combined awkwardness is probably exacerbated by her trauma.
As director, Eva Victor is more deliberate and steady. They don't do a lot of camera movements. The camera is often locked down in a wide shot, lingering on a scene. As a result, the editing is also deliberate and steady. In some instances, it might be considered slow. Victor seems to be pushing the audience to sit in these moments and absorb them, and absorb the impact. I wouldn't say it's boring or the pacing is selfsame. The film moves along in a resolute way.
Rated R for sexual content and language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 43 mins.
Available on HBO Max.