The Surrogate (2021)

The Surrogate is special because it turns a headline-ready ethical dilemma into something intimate, human, and quietly devastating—more about the fragile architecture of friendship than about easy answers. Jeremy Hersh directs with a steady, compassionate hand, letting conversations breathe and tensions accumulate in a way that feels psychologically true, while Jasmine Batchelor delivers a performance of such grounded intelligence you can almost see Jess thinking in real time. The film’s tone is calm but charged, a lived-in drama that treats race, class, sexuality, and disability with uncommon sensitivity and nuance instead of using them as talking points. It isn’t a crowd-pleaser if you’re looking for melodrama or clear villains, but if you want an adult drama that respects your empathy and your mind, it’s absolutely worth your time.

The Surrogate is clearly aiming for a thoughtful, timely drama about bodily autonomy, friendship, and the messy ethics of modern family-making, and it deserves credit for tackling that head-on with committed performances. But the film can feel less like lived-in storytelling and more like a structured debate, with scenes that play a bit stagy and “designed” to make points rather than let emotions unfold naturally. If you’re looking for nuanced character work, organic conflict, and a satisfying dramatic payoff, this may frustrate you with how schematic and unresolved it can feel. If, however, you don’t mind a talky, issue-forward chamber drama that prioritizes moral questions over momentum, it may still be worth your time.