Most critics take to Eva Victor’s debut, and the praise gathers in one place: the way it sets dry humour beside a sexual assault and its aftermath without letting either undo the other. Victor’s performance as Agnes, deadpan and closely observed, comes up in nearly every review, as does writing that lets her be a whole person rather than a case study. The friendship with Lydie, played by Naomi Ackie, is singled out again and again as the film’s emotional centre, and several reviews admire the non-chronological structure for making the recovery feel lived rather than plotted.
The reservations are mild and few. The Hollywood Reporter finds it occasionally too easygoing and visually cautious; The Skinny thinks it never quite realises its potential. The one clear dissent is Vulture, which finds the film evasive where it means to be insightful, though even there Ackie’s performance is praised. The spread is narrow, with twenty-one positive verdicts against a single negative one.
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Time Out
9 August 2025 · ★★★★★ · Hanna Flint
100
The review calls Eva Victor’s debut breathtaking and says she has nothing to be sorry for. It singles out the film’s emotional insight and warmth.
Read the full review →E
Evening Standard
4 September 2025 · Olivia Petter
95*
Petter warmly praises the film as an exceptionally truthful depiction of sexual trauma and healing. She singles out the supportive friendship between Agnes and Lydie as central to its emotional power.
Read the full review →I
IndieWire
27 January 2025 · A- · Kate Erbland
90
The critic calls the film a darkly funny, tender, and major debut. She especially praises Victor’s finely tuned performance and the film’s empathetic balance of humor with painful subject matter.
Read the full review →L
Los Angeles Times
27 June 2025 · Katie Walsh
90*
Walsh finds Victor’s debut a sensitive, nuanced triumph that lingers. She particularly praises Victor’s detailed honesty in portraying trauma and female friendship.
Read the full review →S
Slant Magazine
3 February 2025 · ★★★½/4 · Ross McIndoe
88
McIndoe finds the film sharply funny without diminishing the devastation of Agnes’s experience. He praises the performances and subtle writing for conveying her dissociation, while highlighting the absurd, unresponsive bureaucracy she faces.
Read the full review →E
Empire
18 August 2025 · Miriam Balanescu
85*
The review calls the film a fresh, thoughtful and tenderly funny reinvention of the trauma plot. It praises Victor’s deft balance of light and dark, especially the perceptive scene where Agnes discusses trauma over a sandwich.
Read the full review →N
The New Yorker
20 June 2025 · Justin Chang
85*
Chang finds the film quietly heroic and original, praising its humane, non-linear portrayal of pain and healing. He singles out its unexpected humor as a particularly effective way to resist defining Agnes by her trauma.
Read the full review →A
The AV Club
23 June 2025 · B+ · Jacob Oller
83
Oller praises the film as a funny, affecting, and formally assured account of trauma and recovery. He singles out Eva Victor’s performance and the nonlinear structure for making the story feel vivid and lived-in.
Read the full review →V
Variety
28 January 2025 · Critic's Pick · Peter Debruge
81*
Debruge finds Victor’s debut warm, compassionate, and quietly affecting in its portrayal of rebuilding after trauma. He especially praises its elliptical storytelling and lived-in everyday details for creating a subtle, lasting impact.
Read the full review →L
Little White Lies
19 August 2025 · 3/4/4 · Hannah Strong
80
Strong finds the film tender and reassuring in its portrayal of life after assault. She praises its small moments of kindness and the friendship between Agnes and Lydie.
Read the full review →S
Sight and Sound
24 June 2025 · festival review
80*
The review finds Victor’s debut assured, tender and defiantly funny, with a wry tone that makes its treatment of trauma feel distinctive. It particularly praises Victor’s deadpan performance and the daring one-take shot following Agnes after the assault.
Read the full review →G
The Guardian
29 January 2025 · B · Adrian Horton
77
Horton praises the film as a funny, humane account of life after sexual assault. She particularly singles out Victor’s naturalistic portrayal of the aftermath and the intimacy between the two friends.
Read the full review →H
The Hollywood Reporter
28 January 2025 · festival review · Jon Frosch
75*
Frosch finds the debut frank, funny, and tender, though occasionally too easygoing and visually cautious. He especially praises Eva Victor’s performance and the warm, convincing chemistry between Victor and Naomi Ackie.
Read the full review →S
Screen Daily
28 January 2025 · festival review · Tim Grierson
70*
The standfirst presents the film as an insightful drama debut. The accessible text does not identify a specific element the critic singles out for praise or complaint.
Read the full review →R
RogerEbert.com
festival review
64*
The page appears to be a festival review, but its verdict is unavailable. No specific praise or complaint can be verified from the blocked page.
Read the full review →N
The New York Times
26 June 2025
64*
The page is inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or complaint is available from the supplied text.
Read the full review →V
Vulture
27 June 2025 · Alison Willmore
40*
Willmore finds the film promising in its treatment of language but more often exasperating for substituting evasiveness for insight. She praises Naomi Ackie’s performance as Agnes’s effervescent, supportive friend.
Read the full review →D
Deadline
28 January 2025 · festival review · Pete Hammond
90*
Hammond gives the film a strongly enthusiastic verdict, calling it an assured and heartfelt debut. He particularly praises Eva Victor’s layered performance and her deft balance of dry humor with the story’s trauma.
Read the full review →The critic calls the film an unforgettable, exceptionally accomplished Sundance debut. They especially praise Eva Victor’s pitch-perfect balance of humor and drama, supported by its non-chronological structure and strong performances.
Read the full review →W
The Wrap
29 January 2025 · festival review
90*
The critic calls the film a moving, cathartic debut that balances painful truths with humor. They especially praise Victor’s restrained, compassionate writing and performance in portraying Agnes’s trauma.
Read the full review →P
Paste
24 June 2025 · 8.7/10 · Andy Crump
87
Crump calls the film a thoughtful, sobering work that remains a joy. He praises its deft blend of sardonic humor and melancholy, which lets Agnes be a whole person beyond her trauma.
Read the full review →C
Collider
4 February 2025 · 8/10 · Ross Bonaime
80
Bonaime calls the film a fantastic debut and Victor an exciting new filmmaking voice. He praises Victor’s deft, often humorous handling of trauma and the tender friendships that support Agnes.
Read the full review →E
Eye for Film
23 May 2025 · festival review · Jeremy Mathews
80*
Mathews finds the film a moving, ultimately celebratory portrait of resilience. He praises Victor’s quiet, thoughtful storytelling and its focus on Agnes’s life beyond her trauma.
Read the full review →S
The Skinny
14 August 2025 · ★★★★ · Carmen Paddock
80
Paddock finds the film poignant and well worth seeing, though it never quite realizes its potential. She especially praises the honest performances and the rigorous, non-exploitative treatment of sexual assault and its aftermath.
Read the full review →P
The Playlist
29 January 2025 · festival review
64*
The page is blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. The URL identifies it as a Sundance review focused on Eva Victor’s perspective on sexual assault.
Read the full review →Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate