bjarias The sign of a great actor is to make their performance appear so effortless and natural there is little doubt they completely reflect the person they portray. There are a couple of great performances in this movie, but the one by Rachael Harris.. bit.ly/13oKWjl .. is just off the charts. Natural Selection would not be a movie receiving a lot of mainstream recognition, and that's a shame, for it is an absolutely wonderful little film, featuring one of the finest performances you're likely to see in awhile... hats off to Rachael !! PS.. The film so impressed critic Roger Ebert that he showed the film at Ebertfest in 2011 and granted it three and a half out of four stars.

heamovies The two main characters made the story, even though I had a tough time understanding a woman of Linda's age having so few basic survival instincts when she first meets the, clearly dangerous, druggie son. I got a huge kick out of the 'slice of devout Christian life' (at least as far as these characters were concerned), the inherent hypocrisy they were living daily, and making good excuses to themselves and others for such inconsistency in how they stood by their beliefs. There were gaps in the storyline, that if they'd been there, the characters (especially Linda) would have been a bit less hard to understand/empathize with, but overall these gaps did not ruin the movie. The biggest problem I found with the story, and why I didn't rate it even higher, is that the story skipped from the 'dark moment' straight to the ending without US, the audience, getting to see Linda prove that she had grown and changed (by making that stand to her husband, and to her abusive sister, as well). Also: The ending shot, really, (and maybe this is because we didn't get to see her face down the person that had 'done her wrong' and prove that she finally had a spine), didn't really feel like it matched the actual character arc that the screenwriter started out wanting her to have (or wanting us to think she was going to have). The first shot we see of her (and quite a few more as the story progresses) seems to say that she is a woman who needs to empower herself sexually (and by doing so, empower herself in all other areas of her life where she has been a doormat), to overcome the event from her past that sent her into her current life, but, alas, this is not ever resolved on camera. Instead, the resolution takes place off screen, and all we see is where she goes to enjoy her new-found freedom. (Of course, since I didn't get to see her stand up for herself, I can't help but think: okay, here you are, in your current state--what are you going to do now? Are you even capable of taking care of yourself? Since I didn't get to see her take charge of her life, it leaves me wondering if she actually did, or if she'll fail and go back to her old life after her little 'vacation' from it.Would I watch this film again? Yes, probably--because I found the concept very compelling, and the two main actors played off of each other extremely well.

Steve Pulaski Rachel Harris has a familiar face and a personality that one has been exposed to before. She has been in a number of background roles, from Ed Helms' nagging wife in The Hangover, Greg's loving mother in the ongoing Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise, and a number of Television roles, portraying numerous different characters.Harris embodies quite possibly one of her trickiest roles to date in Robbie Pickering's Natural Selection, a charming, wholesome independent film that doesn't overcompensate either of those qualities. She plays Linda White, a heavily-sheltered, quietly morose Christian housewife who has been married to her husband Abe (John Diehl) and has never acted on sensual impulses because her husband's devout beliefs have told him it's a sin to act purely on horniness. Linda will not admit it, but the fact that her long marriage has remained drab and sexless is physically and mentally draining her.When Abe is hospitalized and quickly approaching death, his dazed remarks about having an illegitimate kid on the count of frequent visits to sperm banks comes up and Linda commits to a cross-country trip from Texas to Florida to find the kid and bring him back to see his biological father before his death. The kid is a twenty-three year old punk named Raymond (Matt O'Leary), who has long been addicted to substance abuse, recklessness, alcohol, danger, and anything anti-normality. He is the polar opposite of sweet, religiously disciplined Linda, and by traveling across the country to get him, she must drive him back home, which gives the viewer some time to dive deeper into both their personalities.What amazes me from a screenplay standpoint is the realism between the characters Rachel and Raymond. Being opposites, we see Raymond's cold, unmoving feeling of her being "some weird bitch who showed up on my doorstep claiming her husband is my biological (bilateral) father) and we see Rachel's sweet side basically reiterating, "there's a good boy in there somewhere." And we can definitely see, mainly from the film's extensive depiction of it, that years of religious practice and her husband's celibacy that those circumstances have made a truly patient, understanding woman, only making her relationship with Raymond work on multiple different levels that never seem to stretch beyond ones' imagination.And again, the film largely works not only because of its screenplay, but because of its beautiful performances and sincerely, delicately captured southern locations that are equal parts warm and gritty. Matt O'Leary's character is wonderfully portrayed here, and Harris only brings out the most in him as an actor. Natural Selection shows us how performances and writing that is focused and alive can truly bring us a picture that otherwise could've been captured in a dim, shoddy light.Starring: Rachel Harris, Matt O'Leary, Joe Diehl, and Jon Gries. Directed by: Robbie Pickering.

poisoncupcake74 The only thing I didn't like was the ending. There is not at all one other thing unlikeable though about this film. It is amazing. I waited for over a year to see it and it is well worth the wait. Matt O'Leary is really an under-appreciated actor. When you see how talented he is you begin to wonder why he was in Sorority Row and not doing more films such as this or Frailty from when he was younger. He absolutely steals this film and Rachel Harris equally steals it back and forth throughout. The premise is that Linda is a religious but neglected wife. Her husband will not have sex with her and ignores her, so to give her life meaning when her husband is on the verge of death, she goes in search of who she believes is his son. The two develop an odd relationship that works. Unfortunately, Linda is being followed by her sisters husband who is obsessed with her and believes her to be in danger. Again, the ending left me unhappy but the acting and movie were so good that I cannot give this movie any less than a 10. It is so perfect, that even though the ending is flawed, it is still perfect. That is saying a lot. That is saying EVERYTHING.