A woman’s decision to provide a gay couple with a child becomes very complicated in this refreshingly real-world drama
This tightly focused, neatly formed story about adults facing relatively common but still profoundly challenging ethical problems is precisely the kind of movie that used to get made with a moderate amount of money and then went on to win awards. Think Ordinary People or Kramer vs Kramer. Nowadays, it’s something only film-makers willing to take risks will tackle, but maybe the results are all the better for it.
The core of the story is a decision facing a trio in their late 20s/early 30s who have compacted to form a new kind of family. Jess (Jasmine Batchelor, terrific at projecting a very millennial blend of intelligence and idealism) is a web designer for a non-profit who’s not ready to settle down with any lover, although there’s a guy she hooks up with occasionally. Instead, her most intense emotional relationship is with Josh (Chris Perfetti), her best friend ever since they went to Sarah Lawrence together, and his husband Aaron (Sullivan Jones). Jess has agreed to be their surrogate and have a baby for them, on the understanding that they won’t pay her directly for this act of generosity or expect her to co-parent the child, but they will pay all her expenses.