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The Surrogate

Play trailer 1:44 Poster for The Surrogate 2020 1h 33m Drama LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
92% Tomatometer 36 Reviews 61% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Complications arise when a young Black woman agrees to become a surrogate mother for a gay, interracial couple.
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The Surrogate

The Surrogate

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Critics Consensus

Led by an outstanding performance from Jasmine Batchelor, The Surrogate probes the heart of a thorny dilemma with strength and sensitivity.

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Critics Reviews

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Edward Porter Times (UK) Jeremy Hersh’s movie often has the feel of an academic exercise, and the fact that its characters are earnest Brooklynites doesn’t help. Rated: 3/5 Dec 6, 2022 Full Review Simran Hans Observer (UK) Writer-director Jeremy Hersh tackles the intersection of race, sexuality, class and disability with rare nuance in this wry indie drama, which observes sharply the trappings of millennial entitlement and liberal hypocrisy. Rated: 4/5 Jul 12, 2021 Full Review Caspar Salmon Little White Lies [T]his is a finely turned exercise. Rated: 3/5 Jul 10, 2021 Full Review Orla Smith Seventh Row Jasmine Batchelor gives one of the best performances of the year in Jeremy Hersh's The Surrogate, a smart and sensitive drama about a pregnancy surrogate who finds out the foetus will be born with Down Syndrome. Aug 29, 2021 Full Review Brian Viner Daily Mail (UK) At times it's a bit of a squeeze in there, but on the whole he delivers a sensitively written, well-acted, intelligent film. Rated: 3/5 Jul 9, 2021 Full Review Emma Simmonds Radio Times It is the complexity and credibility of Batchelor's performance that enables The Surrogate to connect on such a deep and emotional level. Rated: 4/5 Jun 24, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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dave d Give me more Jasmine Batchelor please and in a hurry. In her feature film debut she knocks it out of the park in a very nuanced character study. Batchelor plays the best friend of Josh (Chris Perfetti) who along with his husband ask her to be a surrogate and from there we have a film that should leave you thinking or even better talking. Jeremy Hersh, who wrote and directed just his second feature film has been able to capture moments that are real. While there isn't a lot on the page, and there certainly is a lot a time with zero dialogue, it's necessary as we digest the complications that arise. This is why we watch movies! Final Score: 8/10 Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Outstanding performances. A thoughtful exploration of a very modern problem -- thankfully not a "downer", not preachy --- just a thoughtful examination of a dilemma. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member I thought it was as an ok movie. The ending was disappointing... all that fight For the baby to be born only to still get an abortion... makes me think what was the point of fighting all that time.... I understand people are allowed to change their mind... just was disappointing... I was rooting for her and little baby... Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member SPOILER ALERT for those who have not watched yet— Very well acted for a most common circumstance. I found myself rooting for the main character throughout the movie as she searched all avenues for a humane solution to her predicament. I respected that she also embraced searching her soul, her morals and even a bit of faith in what would be the best decision. I know ‘happy endings’ are not always reality, but up until the very end I really hoped she had stayed on her original path...., and then, POOF, she changes her mind for the selfish reason of not wanting to be connected to the father of the baby. Suck it up, woman!! For THAT crap reason you end a life..... NOT because you’d be a single mom? Or it would be a financial burden on you? Or your career would be possibly jeopardized? Or what was the biggest issue throughout the whole movie, being the fetus tested positive for Down syndrome? She painstakingly got past ALL of this and more, yet when she realized she could in no way be connected to her two gay male ex- friends through her child, she just throws in the towel. So quick was this very sad and disappointing decision ( hence why only 4 stars) that I actually felt sick to my stomach. Shameful the disregard for human life, in any form.....and why was adoption all of a sudden taken off the table? Made no sense, after trying to prove this child had as much right as any to have a life. I guess bitterness and selfishness overrule all. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/21 Full Review Audience Member This film failed the Down Syndrome community. At first they did a very good job representing the community and giving information and facts that really seem to validate their lives. I was very proud at the representation and the fight that Sarah had and the drive and passion that she pursued information and exposure with. As a mother who went through this exact same journey not as a surrogate but as a mother learning that her baby was going to have Down syndrome you did all the right things in advocating that these lives absolutely matter. But since she killed the baby in the end it was all for nothing and you might as well have left the Down Syndrome plotline out of this whole movie. Basically everything that everyone else was saying negatively one out and anything you tried to do to bring positive attention to individuals born with Down Syndrome was no and void and I am passing this around the Down Syndrome community because we work very hard to make sure people understand that their lives are worthy and to have just some movie squash it like that is highly disappointing. The movie had a real chance and Sarah was my hero until the end. Shame on you for playing into the narrative that individuals with Down Syndrome are too much trouble. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Smartly written and well acted, this is one of the better LGBTQ indie films out there, but focusing, rightly so, on the Surrogate. Find it somewhere. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Surrogate

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Cast & Crew

To the Stars 82% 71% To the Stars Watchlist TRAILER for To the Stars Uncle Frank 77% 83% Uncle Frank Watchlist TRAILER for Uncle Frank Blue Jean 96% 92% Blue Jean Watchlist Joe Bell 40% 72% Joe Bell Watchlist TRAILER for Joe Bell L'animale 88% 78% L'animale Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Complications arise when a young Black woman agrees to become a surrogate mother for a gay, interracial couple.
Director
Jeremy Hersh
Producer
Jonathan Blitstein, Julie Christeas, Taylor Hess
Screenwriter
Jeremy Hersh
Production Co
Tandem Pictures, Resonant Pictures
Genre
Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 12, 2020
Runtime
1h 33m
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