The Surrogate
Monument Releasing | Release Date (Streaming): June 12, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJun 8, 2020
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. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comNell MinowJun 12, 2020
There are many layers of complex, sensitive, and controversial subjects in The Surrogate, but writer/director Jeremy Hersh never lets it get preachy. Read full review
83
IndieWireKate ErblandJun 10, 2020
As Jess, Jasmine Batchelor (the film marks her first starring role in a film, the actress also produced it) turns in one of the year’s best performances, profound work that twists an already propulsive concept into a riveting character study. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Simran HansJul 11, 2021
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. Read full review
80
The GuardianLeslie FelperinJul 7, 2021
No one is a bad guy here, while all of them are also flawed, and the movie keeps the viewer wondering right up to the end what Jess will finally decide. Read full review
80
Screen DailyWendy IdeJan 8, 2021
What’s deeply satisfying about this knotty drama is the even-handed approach. Read full review
80
VarietyDennis HarveyJun 11, 2020
That writer-director Jeremy Hersh’s debut feature is a screen original surprises, not because it’s “stagy” (though he has written plays), but because its engagingly argumentative virtues aren’t typical for movies anymore, if they ever were. Read full review
75
The Film StageJared MobarakJun 10, 2020
The result can be frustratingly militant in its desire to show all angles of its central conflict (and how it sparks others), but the questions it makes us ask ourselves are worth it. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 9, 2020
The tone ranges from testy to distraught, but always “adult” in the insistence on talking this out. Read full review
75
The PlaylistJonathan ChristianJun 8, 2020
Imperfections cannot steal away the ambitious underpinnings of Hersh’s intentions for “The Surrogate,” a down-to-earth analysis of the ever-precarious, self-serving human condition; an examination that speaks volumes despite its reserved demeanor. Read full review
60
EmpireIan FreerJul 9, 2021
Jeremy Hersh’s debut is naturalistic and well played. If it initially lacks momentum and oomph, the film becomes a multi-faceted look at issues surrounding surrogacy, anchored by Jasmine Batchelor’s central performance as a woman forced to make a life-changing decision. Read full review
40
The New York TimesGlenn KennyJun 11, 2020
The Surrogate feels like the vexed progeny of an elevator pitch and an ethics advice column. Read full review
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