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Natural Selection

R Released Mar 16, 2012 1h 30m Comedy List
74% Tomatometer 35 Reviews 67% Audience Score 1,000+ Ratings
Upon learning that her dying husband has a 23-year-old illegitimate son, a Texas housewife (Rachael Harris) sets out to find the young man and bring him back to meet his father. Read More Read Less

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Critics Reviews

View All (35) Critics Reviews
Joe Williams St. Louis Post-Dispatch In the evolutionary spectrum of cinema, "Natural Selection" is like the duck-billed platypus, pretending to be warm-blooded but more than a little fowl. Rated: 2/4 Jul 13, 2012 Full Review Mark Feeney Boston Globe [Harris is] the one good thing in "Natural Selection." Rated: 1/4 Jul 5, 2012 Full Review Ben Sachs Chicago Reader However gritty this indie comedy may look (cinematographer Steve Calitri seems to be aping William Eggleston's photographs of the American south), it isn't all that different from an Adam Sandler vehicle. Jun 21, 2012 Full Review C.J. Prince Way Too Indie Despite its shortcomings, Natural Selection is an enjoyable film. Rated: 7.1/10 Jul 3, 2019 Full Review Amie Simon Three Imaginary Girls Harris brings such amazing heart to her character that underneath all the guffaws you see that it's really a story about Linda and her discovery about what she wants and needs. Mar 4, 2019 Full Review Joseph Walsh CineVue Rarely in comic dramas do you see such skill and attention to aesthetic detail, and it makes the film all the more impressive for it. Rated: 4/5 Aug 24, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (49) audience reviews
Audience Member Rachael Harris is a marvel in this film. She fully embodies this character of Linda who has led one too often miserable, undeserved life in a marriage that has one huge deception from her selfish, liar of a husband that's been going on for 25 years. And no, it's not the predictable affair scenario. But due to some sort of almost karmic coincidence of timing and age, she gets a second chance to regain her life fully, and to get that joy that no one has the right to take from us. John Diehl is very good as that deceiving, self-serving husband. John Gries is also good as the nutty preacher who has a thing for Linda that he hides behind deceptions of his own; deceptions also based on righteousness but just as full of baloney. Then there's Matt O'Leary brining life to this uber-loser 'Raymond'. He's much like many other addict schlubs living in abject poverty with no hope for anything more. But between Pickering's writing and direction, there's enough to give the character some fresh nuances, which O'Leary does well enough with. But it's Harris that really makes this work. Nice job, folks. 3 stars Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review dax h I've seen Rachael Harris in movies before, but this is the first time her acting stood out to me. Not that she wasn't good before, but her roles never had much substance, at least not the movies I saw her in. The story wasn't my kind of story, too many twisted twists, that's why the low rating. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Funny. Great screenplay. Rachel Harris' performance 5star. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member I can't even believe this movie received bad reviews. It's gritty, heartfelt, engaging and bitter-sweet. I loved every second of it. Rachel Harris is AMAZING and the dynamic between her and Matt O'Leary is so engaging. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member The Christian and the Criminal. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Robbie Pickering's movie is truly odd. Whether it is the filmmaker's intention or simply accidental that it is so odd is not clear. Essentially it feels like it wants to be a twisted comedic "road trip" movie that veers so far off the road that it approaches being an eccentric character study. The problem is that NATURAL SELECTION fails to achieve either fully. But there is some sort of perplexing tone that makes it surprisingly interesting. I would rate this at the "3 Star" level, but Rachel Harris is so amazing in her role that she almost raises this movie to the level of experimental art. Rachel Harris has always stood out in anything she does, but here she is allowed to fully take command as the film as the leading character. She finds incredible ways of translating the "unbelievable" to "reality" -- In many ways, this movie is worth seeing because of what she does. Matt O'Leary's exceptional work should also be noted. While I think this film is more curiously interesting than rewarding entertainment -- it is Harris and O'Leary who transform the whole mess into something unexpected and surprising. As for Robbie Pickering, I am looking forward to see what he does with his still unreleased next film. He may prove to be an important and unique voice. ...or not. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Natural Selection

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Upon learning that her dying husband has a 23-year-old illegitimate son, a Texas housewife (Rachael Harris) sets out to find the young man and bring him back to meet his father.
Director
Robbie Pickering
Producer
Paul Jensen, Brion Hambel
Screenwriter
Robbie Pickering
Distributor
Cinema Guild
Production Co
Best Medicine Productions
Rating
R (Sexual Content|A Beating|Language|Brief Graphic Nudity|Some Drug Material)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 16, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 13, 2017
Runtime
1h 30m
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