Natural Selection

A multiple award-winner at the SXSW Film Festival, filmmaker Robbie Pickering's Natural Selection is an enjoyable comedy about a devout Christian woman named Linda (Rachael Harris), who has endured a chaste marriage for 25 years. When her husband, Abe (John Diehl), is suddenly incapacitated by a mild stroke, Linda discovers a secret: Abe has been a sperm donor for many years, and likely has children all over the U.S. Believing that Abe has asked her to travel to Florida to retrieve adult son Raymond (Matt O'Leary), Linda does just that—finding Raymond to be a drug-addled reprobate with a hilarious streak of creative vulgarity and a slight possibility of being redeemed. Most of the narrative concerns their long road trip: the slow building of trust; Linda's maternal instincts being matched by Raymond's willingness to be nurtured; and the complications of a sexually desperate woman in close company with her husband's strapping young son. O'Leary is raw and funny, while Harris finally gets a well-deserved opportunity in a leading role. Recommended. (T. Keogh)