"Natural Selection" Goes From Sperm Clinic to, of Course, Tampa

An emancipation story that takes place mostly on the road and on the run, Natural Selection tells the story of how a God-fearing 40-something woman found the greatest love of all. Linda (Rachael Harris) has been living a life of quiet deprivation with pious Abe (John Diehl), who holds fast...

By Michelle Orange

May 10, 2012

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An emancipation story that takes place mostly on the road and on the run, Natural Selection tells the story of how a God-fearing 40-something woman found the greatest love of all. Linda (Rachael Harris) has been living a life of quiet deprivation with pious Abe (John Diehl), who holds fast to a refusal to have sex with his barren wife. Turns out Abe has been wearing himself out at a sperm-donor clinic all those years; when he has a stroke mid-donation, Linda discovers the truth and sets out to recover one of his offspring. She locates Raymond (Matt O'Leary) in Tampa, where he's living the extremely low life, and tries to convince him to come and meet his real father. Like Linda, writer/director Robbie Pickering's feature debut starts out feeling a little mousy and undistinguished. The first creaks of the plot don't bode well for the coming incongruous matchup shtick of would-be mother and son. But Pickering finds a more natural stride once Harris' slightly nutty loneliness and O'Leary's wonderfully convincing skid start digging into each other, first with aggression and then a different kind of heat.

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Michelle Orange is a regular film contributor at Voice Media Group and its film partner, the Village Voice. VMG publications include LA Weekly, Denver Westword, Phoenix New Times, Miami New Times, Broward-Palm Beach New Times, Houston Press and Dallas Observer.