Review of Wendy and Lucy (2008) by C F — 05 Apr 2009

Wendy is a young woman with almost nothing to her name. She has a 20-year-old car, about $500 cash, and her beloved dog, Lucy, with her as she heads from her home in the Midwest to a lucrative job market in Alaska. On the way, she gets stuck in Portland, Oregon, with car trouble, and then Lucy goes missing. And that is the entire plot of this unassuming but extraordinary little film.

With no showy scenes and very little dialogue, Michelle Williams tells the audience everything with her eyes in a gut-wrenching performance. We know nothing about her past or her future, and the isolation she experiences as she lives from day to day is something we experience with her.

Though this is clearly Williams' movie, as she appears in every scene, she shares a few heartening moments with a handful of supporting players. Especially good are Will Patton as the mechanic fixing Wendy's car, and Wally Dalton as a local security guard. To give any more details would spoil the simplicity of their scenes together. Lucy the dog also figures well into the story. There are never any cheesy Hollywood dog moments, and the friendship Wendy and Lucy have is portrayed as if they rely on each other more than anything.

Director Kelly Reichardt keeps things just as low-key visually, shooting on 16mm film without any artificial lighting or effects. There isn't even any music, apart from Wendy's occasional humming.

At only eighty minutes, and appearing on only forty screens at its widest release, the film seems to have come and gone with little fanfare, which is a shame because this is easily one of the best films of the year, and Williams certainly deserved some Oscar recognition over some of this year's other nominees. Do yourself a favour and be sure to check it out on DVD.