One of the many strengths of writer-director Jeremy Hersh's impressive first feature, The Surrogate, is its skill at establishing a highly specific scenario — a pact involving a young single woman, her gay best friend and his husband, all three of them smart, open-minded progressives — and making it completely relatable to any parent, or anyone who has ever considered becoming a parent.
This clear-eyed ethical drama is propelled by a performance of stunning psychological insight and raw feeling from Jasmine Batchelor.
But the film is rendered even more affecting by the careful consideration it gives to the impact of her character's fluctuating decision-making, both on the people directly involved and those on the fringes.