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(M, 104 minutes)
5 stars
Writer-director-star Eva Victor has done something remarkable here. They have made a film about a sexual assault and its aftermath that manages to include a lot of humour - in lines, in characters, in situations - alongside the expected poignancy and drama. The title, reminiscent of a rom-com, isn't a joke: it pays off beautifully at the end of the film.
The film jumps around in time in titled sections, a device that can be confusing and annoying but is handled adroitly. This is a film that rewards attention, and likely more than one viewing: there's a lot in it.
Victor (whose previous acting credits include the streaming show Billions) plays Agnes, a young English professor at her old college in rural Massachusetts who lives with her cat. Her friend Lydie (Naomi Ackie) comes for a visit and says she has become pregnant via a sperm donor. Victor and Ackie really do come across as longtime friends here, conveying the intimacy and shorthand such relationships have.
They catch up over dinner with some old college friends who'd been fellow graduate students (curious aside: why do Americans call them "graduate" students while we call them "postgraduate"?). The most vividly drawn is Natasha, who's extremely envious of Agnes's success (Kelly McCormack is very funny as Natasha, wearing a perpetual expression of seething resentment).
Agnes was the favourite student of their literature professor, Preston Decker (Louis Cancelmi) - a major reason for Natasha's ire - who's very complimentary about her work - but, and you might have seen this coming, his interest in her isn't solely academic. At his house one night, Decker sexually assaults Agnes. This is not depicted on screen but the long-held shot of the professor's house as night comes on makes us imagine the worst, an understated approach that is all too effective.
Afterwards, Lydie is supportive as the traumatised Agnes sees a brusque doctor who wonders why she bathed rather than going to the hospital for a rape kit test and two women from the college's disciplinary board who express their sympathy but say there's nothing they can do as Decker has abruptly resigned and left. He's out of their jurisdiction now. So much for the idea of campuses being safe spaces.
These scenes are not unlike those seen in other films and TV shows, with their characters' points of view being understandable but utterly ineffectual responses to the pain of the woman sitting in front of them.
But Victor isn't making a procedural - Agnes doesn't even want to go to the police. It's the long-term impact on Agnes that is the focus. Life moves on for others - even Lydie has to return to New York eventually - but can it for Agnes?
At one point a scene from the classic movie 12 Angry Men is playing on TV, foreshadowing two later scenes: one in which Agnes is called for jury duty and obliquely references her experience and how it might affect her ability to be impartial, and another when she has an encounter with an older man that turns out to be one of the most memorable in the film.
Veteran character actor John Carroll Lynch plays Pete, the man who's initially intent on telling Agnes she can't park her car where she's stopped. But when he realises she's having a panic attack, his whole demeanour changes: he helps Agnes through it and gives her more consideration and care than any of the professionals we saw earlier. He gives her sustenance, both literal and figurative. Sometimes kindness is easier between strangers than people who know each other.
The movie is often like this, allowing us access to Agnes's thoughts and feelings in unusual ways over time, giving us hope that she might be processing things in a way that enables her to keep going despite the trauma.
The other character worth mentioning is Gavin (Lucas Hedges), Agnes's neighbour, who seems adorkable and might be good for Agnes. Their scenes together are funny and natural.
The film is all from Agnes' viewpoint so some of the characters are sketchily drawn but they're all brought to life by a fine cast. This isn't a big-budget blockbuster but it would be a shame if it spilled by unnoticed: it's very well done.
