In Our Nature | Review

Forces of Nurture: Savelson’s Debut an Understated Ensemble of Well Tread Angst

For his feature film debut, Brian Savelson has acquired an impressive four person ensemble that examines everything from parent and child relationships, round two families, and even a nod to Chekov with some estate squabbles. There’s a definite sense, that only deepens as In Our Nature reaches its last lap, that this is familiar territory, a quartet of characters constantly undermining or over compensating in their surroundings as they navigate the miasma of the dysfunctional family discourse. While this doesn’t detract from Savelson’s well-written scenario, per se, there are several moments where we get lost in really caring how or why any of these people will ever resolve their personal issues.

Leaving behind Brooklyn for the weekend, aspiring chef Seth (Zach Gilford) takes longtime girlfriend Andie (Jena Malone) to his father’s cabin, which had been the family vacation home of his youth. Seth has made it obvious that the weekend is meant to be “extra special,” awkwardly scuffling a mysterious package into the house in plain sight of Andie. Getting comfortable by having sex on the cabin’s living room floor, coitus interruptus befalls their housewarming when Seth’s dad, Gil (John Slattery) shows up with his new girlfriend, Vicky (Gabrielle Union) in tow. Immediately, an awkward mucky muck tension sets in, and the younger couple immediately decides to bow out, though it’s obvious that Andie is a bit unsettled that Seth’s never mentioned her to Gil in the two years they’ve been dating. Vicky asserts that Gil should invite his son to stay for dinner at the very least, but, unaccustomed to cooking for vegans, a dinner snafu only adds to the mounting tension.

It turns out that Seth and Gil are way more estranged than either of their respective girlfriends realizes, revealing Seth to be way more damaged than his happy-go-lucky nature would seem, and alarming Vicky, currently trying to begin her own family with the slightly older Gil. Through some manufactured interactions at the hands of the females, father and son have several opportunities to rekindle a bond, but are continually interrupted by Seth’s haunting resentment for his cold and distant father, while Gil’s extremely anal retentive personality hinders his acceptance of his son’s more whiny and whimsical ways. And then, everyone gets clued in to the fact that Gil’s about to sell the property.

In Our Nature feels like a subdued stage play, invoking but never quite reaching the histrionics of something like Labute, Williams, or Edward Albee. The potential for over the top melodrama is certainly there, but Savelson scales it back considerably. It’s like if George and Martha had a dinner party without any liquor and also could only speak using sign language. There’s a natural flow to the film’s interactions, with either Andie or Vicky, Gil or Seth constantly sharing scenes with one of the others as they float in and out of the cabin and its surrounding property, but without the biting anger and fury that propels previously mentioned works, the flaccid realism of In Our Nature loses our interest at the midway point. True, it’s refreshing that the film pointedly doesn’t address predictable scenarios, such as using Gil and Vicky’s interracial union as a dramatic detail. As it should be, it’s never even mentioned. But why do we care if these decently adjusted (not to mention, privileged) people get along or not? Savelson never finds that reason, so when Andie fakes cutting her finger chopping vegetables in order to goad Gil into helping Seth cook (the only thing he seems to be able to do with some precision) this feels as overtly rehearsed and over thought for the characters as much as the film often feels to us watching it.

Luckily, Savelson manages to get three exemplary performances from his crew, the exception being Zach Gilford, who may also be in the role most poorly written. Gilford, as well as Slattery, are both well known television faces, particularly Slattery from both “Mad Men” and “Desperate Housewives,” though he does pop up often in films as a capable character actor. It’s great to see him excel in such a meaty role, and the same can be said for the two females.

Jena Malone, well known to the indie film crowd, is annoyingly cloying and overly helpful here, which is exactly what the role calls for. Andie is a young woman both transfixing and completely oblivious to subtle cues from others. But it’s Gabrielle Union who outshines them all here as the pregnant Vicky, clearly the most well adjusted of the four. In Our Nature feels like a throwback to the stagy dramas of a past age. It’s just too bad that there’s not much at stake for anyone involved, and it’s just about mostly successful people awkwardly spending time together.