In what seems almost like a cleansing ritual after wrestling with studio horror franchises, David Gordon Green’s Nutcrackers sees the director return closer to his indie roots, observing characters that sprout organically from their rural or small-town environments. This cute fish-out-of-water comedy about the unexpected rewards of a found family tries to approximate the naturalism, lyricism and raw emotion of Green’s early works George Washington and All the Real Girls, but it’s too predictably sentimental to have a comparable effect. The idea came from Green meeting the four spirited young sons of an old friend, and Leland Douglas’ screenplay appears to allow latitude for semi-improvisation from those boys, playing versions of themselves. That gives the film a disarming sincerity that dovetails with Ben Stiller’s sensitive, understated performance as an uptight Chicagoan thrust into the inconvenient role of parent. But the abundance of montages and exuberant slo-mo romps only underline the shortage of narrative substance. Nutcrackers The Bottom Line Warm and heartfelt if a touch formulaic. Venue: Toronto International Film Festival (Gala Presentations)Cast: Ben Stiller, Linda …