Actor-comedian Eva Victor’s directing debut was inspired by personal experiences in this story about a New England literature professor who lives an isolated life, traumatized by a sexual assault at the hands of their teacher when they were a graduate.

Moving back and forth between different periods, Victor builds a realistic, insightful portrait of a person trying to deal with a life-changing event over several years, as it has sometimes unexpected consequences.

They’re very good in that role and a key strength in this film is their sense of humor, avoiding to get bogged down by the trauma… and offering hope in the end.

2025-U.S. 104 min. Color. Written and directed by Eva Victor. Cast: Eva Victor (Agnes), Naomi Ackie (Lydie), Lucas Hedges (Gavin), Louis Cancelmi, Kelly McCormack, John Carroll Lynch.

Trivia: Co-produced by Barry Jenkins.

Last word: “The film does a deliberate job at giving you the language it wants to use. The film calls it the ‘bad thing,’ and the only person who says the word ‘rape’ is the doctor. So the film is carefully moving through the language of that topic, and it’s interesting reading the way people write about the film so far, because we deliberately have a log line that’s meant to be more holistic. I don’t want anyone to feel surprised in a scary way seeing the film, but it’s meant to hold one’s hand while watching it, and it’s interesting having writers use the word ‘rape’ or use the phrase ‘sexual assault,’ which makes sense; I understand. But it’s a really interesting experience, since the film tries to create its own language for this topic.” (Victor, Time Magazine)