The Surrogate – Movie Review
Director: Jeremy Hersh
Writer: Jeremy Hersh (Screenplay)
Cast
- Jasmine Batchelor (A Journal for Jordan)
- Chris Perfetti (The Night Of)
- Sullivan Jones (Harlem)
- Brooke Bloom (Extremely Loud & Incredible Close)
- Eboni Booth (Come Play)
Plot: A web designer for a non-profit in Brooklyn, is ecstatic to be the surrogate and egg-donor for her best friend and his husband. Twelve weeks into the pregnancy, a prenatal test comes back with unexpected results that pose a moral dilemma.
Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Surrogate starts when web designer Jess (Batchelor) agrees to become a surrogate for her gay best friends Josh (Perfetti) and Aaron (Jones). While the agreement is all drawn up, after twelve weeks prenatal test comes back with news the baby has down-syndrome. This leads to questions about whether they would still bring the child into the world.
Jess dives into learning more about down-syndrome, she wants to continue to bring the baby into the world. However, the couple isn’t willing to put in the time to raise the baby. This leads to a moral dilemma for Jess about what she wants to do.
Verdict on The Surrogate
The Surrogate is a drama that follows a moral dilemma that could occur during a surrogate pregnancy. It sees how the people involved must make a moral decision on whether to continue with the pregnancy.
This is an interesting movie, one that offers up a big conversation about learning about early disabilities children can have. Showing the difficult decision people go through knowing they would have to raise a child with down-syndrome. Being a surrogate puts three people in the conversation of having their lives changed and on top of that the legal decision of the parents doesn’t want to have it. It is all fascinating to see unfold. The performances are wonderful too, with the whole cast shining through the decision-making process.
Final Thoughts – The Surrogate is a brilliant drama about a complicated decision.