Review of Wendy and Lucy (2008) by Alex V — 31 Jan 2009

This is the antithesis of most of the stuff I've seen this year. Most of the big films take pride in their escapism, flashy nature, and fantastic elements, and Wendy and Lucy has nothing of that sort. It's simple, stark, and stripped down to its absolute core. And it's probably the best film of 2008. EPIC FAIL, OSCARS.

Everything about this film is deceptively simple, but manages to speak volumes about...well, everything. The need in today's society for money, the quiet desperation of the struggling and impoverished, the worst in people, the best in people, and most importantly, America as a whole. This is the one film I can cite from 2008 to be absolutely, quintessentially American to match this day and age. The imagery, similarly straightforward and lacking in flourishes, is both beautiful and perfectly calculated. But the biggest way this movie silently blasted into the stratosphere and got under my skin was Michelle Williams' absolutely crushing role as Wendy, the title character who loses her dog in a quiet Oregon town. Her story, so small and simple, managed to burrow its way into my heart so that by the end, I was bawling. That's right, bawling. I was so out of control, I was actually able to stop crying only because of how silly I realized I looked.

After ingesting all the artificial candy of 2008, I was hungering for something extremely understated and devoid of any fluff. Wendy and Lucy hit the spot. Leave it to a little story of a girl and her dog wandering the streets of Real America to sneak up on me and become my favorite film of 2008. Again, Oscars, Epic Fail for not recognizing this.