Natural Selection

An okay indie flick bolstered by a fantastic lead performance by comedienne Rachael Harris. Harris is probably best known for playing Ed Helms' wife in The Hangover, or perhaps for her appearances on The Daily Show or VH1's I Love the '70s/80s/whatever. One could never have predicted the depth she gives to her character here. She plays a sexless, Christian housewife whose husband (John Diehl) suffers from a stroke. It comes to light that, though he refuses to sleep with her, he frequents the local sperm bank. Harris feels betrayed, but her husband is at death's door, so she attempts to forgive him. He mutters, perhaps from delirium, that she needs to find a long lost son, and she sets out to find the young man. Matt O'Leary plays the drug addict she finds, and, attempting to escape the sheriff, he takes off with her on a road trip. O'Leary is quite good himself, but, again, it's Harris' movie. The film starts off a little snarky about the whole situation, but Harris takes her character's dilemma seriously and plays her as a woman in deep emotional turmoil. The film is a dramedy, and it's often very funny. But Harris' dramatic moments are the ones you're going to remember. She's a true revelation here, turning in one of the best performances of the year.

I was more than surprised by this film. The performance of the two main characters was authentic and moving. Linda and Raymond were both desperate and lonely people yearning for human connection. The film takes us on a whirlwind trip through powerful, unexamined emotions. A few of the supporting characters were under developed, but did not seriously detract from the movie. I was moved by the power of this little film.

Yes this is a gem. Acting that makes you forget you are watching a movie. Thank you to all who made it happen.

natural selection - my friend picked this film to watch, and it looked like a slapstick comedy, luckily for me it wasn't. i was not familiar with the actors, but thought all the performances were excellent. this film has a lot of heart, its quirky, but not in a pretentious way. an excellent movie about love and relationships. i found the movie touching sad funny and never knew how the film would end, right up until the credits started to roll. i recommend this movie to just about everyone. if you track it down, grab it you maybe as surprised as i was. fantastic drama comedy, that is as good as any movie with the big budget and big stars.

We absolutely love this movie! From start to finish we were mesmerized...It has a fantastic story line and not your typical ending. I highly recommend watching it