''Natural Selection'' is a 2011 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Robbie Pickering. It stars

Rachael Harris Rachael Elaine Harris (born January 12, 1968) is an American actress and comedian. She is known for her numerous acting roles, such as starring as Dr. Linda Martin in ''Lucifer'', her role in the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' film series, and as a g ...

Matt O'Leary Matthew Joseph O'Leary (born July 6, 1987) is an American actor. He made his debut in the made-for-television Disney Channel Original film ''Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire'' (2000), and would go on to star in the thriller '' Domestic Disturbance ...

John Diehl John Henry Diehl (born May 1, 1950) is an American character actor. Noted for his work in avant-garde theater, Diehl has performed in more than 140 films and television shows, including '' Land of Plenty'', ''Stripes'', '' City Limits'', ''Nix ...

, and

Jon Gries Jonathan Gries ( '; born June 17, 1957) is an American actor, writer, and director. He is best known for the role of Uncle Rico in '' Napoleon Dynamite '' for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male, and ...

. The film was accepted by

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

for the 2011 Narrative Feature Competition.

Synopsis

Linda White, a barren

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

housewife, leads a sheltered existence in suburban

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Her world is turned upside-down when she discovers that her dying husband, Abe, has a 23-year-old son through a sperm bank named Raymond living in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Somewhere on the edge of guilt and loneliness, Linda grants Abe's final wish and sets off on a quixotic journey to find Raymond and bring him back before her husband passes away. Along the way, Linda's wonderfully bizarre relationship with Raymond's roommate, an escaped con purporting to be Raymond, will teach her more about herself than she ever imagined possible and force her to come to terms with her troubled past.

Awards and accolades

''Natural Selection'' was well received at its 2011

debut, winning both jury and audience awards for best narrative feature, in addition to best screenplay, best editing, and best score/music. Lead actors

and

both received breakthrough performance awards. 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. Both director Robbie Pickering and actress Rachael Harris received Golden Thumb awards.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Natural Selection''
at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

''Natural Selection''
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

2011 films 2010s English-language films