The Surrogate (2020 film)

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The Surrogate
Film poster for The Surrogate (2020 film), 2020 American LGBT drama independent film.jpg
Film poster
Directed byJeremy Hersh
Written byJeremy Hersh
Produced by
Starring
  • Jasmine Batchelor
  • Chris Perfetti
  • Sullivan Jones
  • Brooke Bloom
  • Eboni Booth
  • William DeMeritt
CinematographyMia Cioffi Henry
Edited byCecilia Delgado
Production
companies
  • Tandem Pictures
  • Resonant Pictures
Distributed byMonument Releasing
Release date
  • June 12, 2020 (2020-06-12)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Surrogate is a 2020 American LGBT-related independent drama film written and directed by Jeremy Hersh, in his feature film debut. The film stars Jasmine Batchelor, Chris Perfetti, Sullivan Jones, Brooke Bloom, Eboni Booth and William DeMeritt. The film premiered on June 12, 2020, in virtual cinemas, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and received generally positive reviews. The film was released to streaming services on September 1, 2020. [1]

Contents

Plot

Jess agrees to be a surrogate mother for her best friend Josh and his husband Aaron. When a prenatal test reveals that the baby will likely be born with Down syndrome, complications arise between the three of them. Josh and Aaron are unsure if they are prepared to care for a special needs child, and the associated financial costs, so they suggest Jess have an abortion. Jess, on the other hand, has different plans, she researches what it will take to raise a special needs child by talking to knowledgeable mothers and looking into public assistance.

Cast

Production notes

During his initial research for the project, Hersh posted on a message board looking for an actual surrogate for consultation and advice for the film. Someone then took a screenshot of the message and posted it in a Facebook group, where he met a woman willing to relay her experiences. Hersh also consulted with her during the pre-production of the film. [2] In an interview with Filmmaker Magazine , Hersh revealed that lead actress Jasmine Batchelor had never been in a film before, but her "level of craft was at this incredibly high caliber". [3] Hersh found Batchelor through Erica Hart, the casting director, who had been following the actress ever since seeing her perform at Juilliard. [3]

The film does not have a music soundtrack, instead relying on the dialogue alone. [4]

Critical reception

Nell Minow of RogerEbert.com said the film has "many layers of complex, sensitive, and controversial subjects...but Hersh never lets it get preachy...he keeps the focus on the characters and their struggles to reconcile one of life's most painful dilemmas, the sometimes-vertiginous gap between what we think and what we feel". She rated the film 3.5 out of 4. [5] Dennis Harvey wrote in his review for Variety that the film is "engrossing and very well-acted". He also argued that Hersh could have just taken the safe route of stereotypical tropes like "debating the rights of the disabled...the hierarchy of blacks vs. gays as societal underclasses", but instead he took this "garrulous but always psychologically plausible tale" and didn't let the film turn into that kind of "dramatized abstract...its characters may illuminate a number of thorny issues, but they never exist just to illustrate them". [6] The Hollywood Reporter said the film is driven by a performance of "stunning psychological insight and raw feeling" from Jasmine Batchelor. They also praised Hersh for making the film "compelling and grounded in a firm foundation of what feels like an authentic experience". [7]

Kate Erbland from Indie Wire gave the film a grade of B+. She also praised Batchelor's performance calling it "riveting and raw". Erbland noted that while this is Hersh's first feature film, he doesn't quite "stick the landing...but its path through thorny questions and seemingly unanswerable dilemmas makes for a thought-provoking, well-crafted watch". [8] Glenn Kenny from The New York Times deviated from the mainstream view, saying the film "feels like the vexed progeny of an elevator pitch and an ethics advice column". He concluded with sharp criticism for Hersh, stating he portrayed the characters Josh and Aaron, "as glib and shallow bourgeois brats he clearly had conceived them as all along". [9] Film Threat said the movie "strives to hit every emotional string you have in your body...it is definitely an emotional rollercoaster but can be considered too much for some viewers". They rated the film 6/10. [4]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 94% of 36 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. [10] The critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads: "Led by an outstanding performance from Jasmine Batchelor, The Surrogate probes the heart of a thorny dilemma with strength and sensitivity". On Metacritic the film has a score of 73% based on reviews from 12 critics. [11]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (May 27, 2020). "Monument Releasing Sets SXSW Drama 'The Surrogate' For 'Virtual Theatrical' Release In North America, First Trailer". Deadline Hollywood .
  2. ↑ Hersh, Jeremy (June 12, 2020). "The Surrogate - A Conversation with director Jeremy Hersh and one-time surrogate Sarah Parker" (video). Monument Releasing – via YouTube.
  3. 1 2 Macaulay, Scott (January 4, 2021). "Writer/Director Jeremy Hersh Interviewed by Jeremy O. Harris About Hersh's Powerful and Nuanced Drama, The Surrogate". Filmmaker Magazine .
  4. 1 2 Salce, Chris (March 28, 2020). "The Surrogate". Film Threat .
  5. ↑ Minow, Nell (June 12, 2020). "The Surrogate movie review, film summary (2020)". RogerEbert.com .
  6. ↑ Harvey, Dennis (June 11, 2020). "'The Surrogate': Film Review". Variety .
  7. ↑ Rooney, David (June 5, 2020). "'The Surrogate': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter .
  8. ↑ Erbland, Kate (June 10, 2020). "'The Surrogate' Review: Microbudget Moral Drama Packs One of the Year's Best Performances". Indie Wire .
  9. ↑ Kenny, Glenn (June 11, 2020). "'The Surrogate' Review: Carrying a Baby, and Much More". The New York Times .
  10. ↑ "The Surrogate". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved October 30, 2021. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  11. ↑ "The Surrogate". Metacritic . Retrieved January 1, 2021.
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