_“The Surrogate” is ultimately a romantic comedy about one man’s fears and his struggles to overcome them. “I didn’t want to make a biopic,” Lewin said. “I wanted to make a relationship movie.” As written by Lewin, and played by Hawkes in a performance that recalls Daniel Day-Lewis’ Oscar-winning role in “My Left Foot,” O’Brien is an articulate and self-deprecating observer of his life. “I can be a bit time-consuming, but I’m worth the trouble,” he says early in the film. Determined not to die a virgin, he turns to a priest (William H. Macy) to discuss his options.

With the priest’s reluctant blessing, O’Brien contacts Greene (Helen Hunt). Hunt boldly pulls a full Fassbender, stripping naked as she tries to teach O’Brien how to make love and “stop acting like you’re going to your own execution.”