In Milkwater, filmmaker Morgan Ingar explores the complexities of sexuality, parenthood, and emotional attachment with beautiful, and sometimes brutal, honesty.
The film follows Milo (brilliantly played by Molly Bernard of Younger and Transparent), an aimless 20-something who is feeling even more lost after attending her childhood bestie's baby shower. Searching for a sense of purpose in her life, Molly impulsively decides to be a surrogate and egg donor for an older gay man she befriends at a bar. But soon, human emotions, chemistry, and hormones come into play and throw a wrench in the works of Molly's plan.
"As a young queer woman who wants to have children someday, I spend a lot of time thinking about the complexities of having children in gay relationships, and how that process often involves people outside the relationship," says Ingar. "As the family unit becomes less and less traditional, I think there's an opportunity to explore both the beauty and the vulnerability in that."
Anxiety ensues as Milo (Molly Bernard) attends her BF's baby shower in Milkwater.
As the story progresses, we see Milo grow more and more emotionally attached to Roger (also brilliantly played by accomplished stage and film actor Patrick Breen) as their friendship grows -- along with Milo's pregnancy. This begins to make him increasingly nervous, as they initially had agreed Roger was to raise the child on his own. As a result, Roger begins to pull away emotionally, leaving Milo to grapple with the reality of the decision she's made.
"I'm also drawn to complex women, and complex women having children," adds Ingar. "I've seen many of my incredibly magnetic, brilliant, flawed female friends struggle with how to incorporate their identities into their pregnancies. I'm passionate about examining the different facets and layers of sexuality, womanhood, and femininity, and how those coalesce into the decision to have children or get pregnant. I'm also compelled by the 'crazy woman' archetype -- I think it's essential to dig past the stereotype and into the nebulous emotions underneath."
The film has already received much critical acclaim after recently making the film festival rounds, with many praising the filmmaker's ability to flesh out real, human characters and situations.
"It's a testament to Ingar's non-judgmental fondness for her characters that she never glosses over the flaws of either Milo or Roger," stated the Hollywood Reporter'sreview. "Milo is stubbornly blind to the signals, leveraging her pregnancy for friendship benefits, almost to stalker levels; Roger is borderline harsh in reminding her that after waiting so long to be a father, it's something he needs to do alone, at least for now."
Check out an exclusive clip of Milkwater below.
