'In Our Nature'
Daily reviews and interviews
Reviewed by Melanie Haupt, Fri., March 16, 2012
In Our Nature
Narrative SpotlightD: Brian Savelson; with Zach Gilford, John Slattery, Jena Malone, Gabrielle Union
Seth (Friday Night Lights' Gilford) and Andie (Malone) are two crazy Brooklyn kids in love and have stolen away to Seth's family cabin in the Catskills for a romantic weekend. Discomfort ensues when Seth's father, Gil (Slattery), and his girlfriend, Vicky (Union), arrive unexpectedly. The two men, whose filial relationship is deeply damaged, to say the least, circle testily around one another, making passive-aggressive jibes through conversations about food choices and materialism. Meanwhile, the two women are aghast to witness their partners' more unsavory sides; Seth assumes a defensive pose and lashes out childishly while Gil barks at and browbeats his son, apparently his default parenting method. The scenery is lovingly shot, and the bucolic setting is a genius counterpoint to the ugliness that lurks beneath the lovers' facades. The weak link here is Malone, who scans as a dippy rendition of Kristen Stewart with a hideous wardrobe.
Thursday, March 15, 11am, Stateside
