Review of Wendy and Lucy (2008) by Geoffrey T — 22 Mar 2012

There isn't much to this film in that it has a stable plot or can carry a story. It's more a portrait of a sad lonely, pathetically poor girl who can't catch a break no matter what. It really is a heart wrenching film because of the time it was set and the probable fact that many people have gone through this phase of life and have been met with a cool, cruel world.

Wendy has very little money, no job, and a car that is giving her trouble. One mistake prompts an avalanche of bad luck from the dinky Oregon town where she is stranded. One user has commented that she finds the townspeople to be kind in the face of the disparity of her situation, and she in turn should be kind.

I'm not sure if this film is trying to be at all uplifting or commenting on people still having empathy during any economic crisis or for people suffering through it. It's more just about Wendy as a person, the trials of her life, and the sacrifices she has to make to survive, some of them heartbreaking to watch.

She gives up all sense of pride in this film and comes out looking more saddened than anything. People in our country were one paycheck away from living on the streets as of 2008, and even today, so this film is full of commentary on the state of our nation.

More importantly though, this film is timeless because of the empathy any of us feel for another human being and the struggles we all must go through in order to survive. Wendy does survive, and most of the film reflects her solidarity, her losses, and isolation.

Overall I found this to be more of a downer than anything, with a strong performance from Michelle Williams, as she again exhibits all the qualities of the great actress she is. Worth seeing, no matter what year it is.