IndieWire’s Sundance Critics Poll Topped by ‘Sorry, Baby’ & ‘The Perfect Neighbor’

I really hate to say it, because I’ve been a major defender of the Sundance Film Festival, for many years, but this year’s edition just didn’t do it for me.

Sure, I wasn’t in attendance, instead opting for the virtual press option of screening the films at home, but I saw most of the buzzy titles that made this year‘s IndieWire critics poll, and none of them were what I would call “great.”

Even Eva Victor’s “Sorry Baby,” which topped the critics poll, and was a good film, lacked the urgency that one would usually get in discovering a new talent at Sundance. In the film, Victor plays Agnes, a sexual assault victim who can’t seem to brush off the scarring incident, even as “life goes on,” and her dream to become a university professor turns into a reality.

I was about to watch Clint Bentley’s “Train Dreams” but then Netflix — who bought the film for $10M — decided to pull it from the platform — an unprecedented move that infuriated many. The film had only been made available for press, and there shouldn’t have been any reason to take it offline.

The three best films from this year’s Sundance were all documentaries. The crowning jewel was Geeta Gandbhir’s ”The Perfect Neighbor,” a true crime nonfiction, shot almost entirely from police bodycam footage, and edited to perfection. This was an account of a petty dispute turned into tragedy.

Gandbhir’s film, and rightfully so, topped the IndieWire poll’s Best Documentary category. It’s still looking for distribution, but I bet there’s a bidding war going on right now to nab this automatic doc Oscar contender.

The Best Movies of Sundance 2025, According to 176 Critics (via IndieWire):

1. “Sorry, Baby”
2. “Twinless”
3. “Train Dreams”
4. “Omaha”
5. “The Things You Kill”
6. “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
7. “Plainclothes”
8. “Together”
9. “Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)”
10. “The Ballad of Wallis Island”