Milkwater Movie Review (2020)
A character-driven drama about a lonely young woman who volunteers to be a surrogate for a man she barely knows, Milkwater is a very human film that explores how a desire to help can gradually become something far more complicated.
Have you ever watched the show Call The Midwife? I started watching it years ago because it was my grandma’s favorite. But now, over a decade later, I watch it because it calms me. I find the history fascinating, and the characters, who are living through progress in medicine, birth control, and childbirth, are people I enjoy spending time with. When I came across this movie, the description piqued my interest. Call The Midwife has not gotten to surrogacy yet, so I was doubly in.
Milkwater is about Milo, a twenty-something who doesn’t have much going on in her life. Spending time with close friends – one of whom is married and pregnant, another of whom is dating – Milo feels lost as she spends nights at bars and days working at the music store where she plays songs on the guitar. One night, while having been left by a friend, Milo meets Roger, a fifty-something gay man who is a drag performer and has always wanted a child. Milo proposes that she serve as Roger’s surrogate, and the two begin a journey to see whether their plan will come to fruition.
This is a quirky indie film that I really enjoyed watching. It’s very understated and natural, and every character is someone you might know or might want to. There is a single throughline about pregnancy to the movie, but, as with most independent films, it’s really about the people.
Milo is struggling to define her life. She sees everyone around her moving forward, and when this opportunity presents itself, she is the one who makes the offer. She is lonely and a little self-destructive, and making decisions off the cuff seems to be her thing. But this is a huge decision, and, while helping to make Roger’s dreams come true, she never stops to wonder why else she’s made this choice.
Milkwater does an excellent job of presenting a situation involving good people who want to be happy, but it becomes humanly messy. Milo’s parents died, and she has a sense of needing to be needed, so boundaries are an issue. Roger (who I could have happily watched in drag for several more songs) is hopeful, awkward, and older, so he has a different, more mature perspective on life.
I found Milkwater to be a grounded film with lots of nuance, and, as funny as this might sound, I just liked it. It was an enjoyable experience. I think a lot of that came from fully understanding where each character was coming from, even if I might have made different choices, and that in itself is a win for the movie. Check it out.
Runtime: 102 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: Not Rated
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 3/5 Stars
Available: Free for Amazon Prime members, on Tubi and Roku, to rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
