Customer Reviews

Wendy and Lucy

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Michelle Williams delivers a very understated performance as a down-on-her-luck Wendy, who brings her loyal dog, Lucy, along with her to a journey for a supposed prosperity. It is a very quiet and subtle performance that, Wendy, with little money and no dog food, and an incident which prompts her to lose Lucy, meshes along with her surroundings: a dry and monotone small town, where the sun shines to merely beat down the lumbering, sluggish skins of the inhabitants.This is a very important work, especially in light of today's economic situation: "You need an address to get an address, and you need a job to get a job." succinctly says the kind-hearted security guard who provides help to Wendy during her descent into financial and emotional ruins. "Wendy and Lucy", directed by Kelly Reichardt, emphasizes the many possibilities that are available to an individual by virtue of how everything could be wiped away by being in a little mishap that triggers a chain of unfortunate events, each worse than the previous ones. The dire circumstances that Wendy finds herself in may not be grandiose or explosive, but her plight is all the more heartbreaking and terrifying: just a few more dollars for a bag of dog food for Lucy would have made all the difference. Along with "The Wrestler", though this one is on a simpler and quieter scale, "Wendy and Lucy" is visual poetry that examines a broken and fragile character that perseveres through life's many disappointments. Very ethereal and melancholic; it is simply beautiful.

Sometimes simple can say so much, and that is the case with this independent gem. `Wendy and Lucy' quite simple tells the story of Wendy and Lucy, a young woman and her dog. Wendy is virtually homeless, sleeping in her car as she makes her way to Alaska where she feels her life will be better. Lucy is her faithful `yellow gold' dog who sticks by her side and proves to be the only sunlight in Wendy's life. The film opens with Wendy and Lucy walking through the woods playing fetch as a consistent and almost tranquil hum embeds itself in our ears and it is that simple imagery that tells us all we need to know about Wendy.

Without Lucy, she is lost.

The film doesn't have much plot depth, for it can be summed up in one sentence:

"Wendy loses Lucy and desperately tries to find her."

Trying to cast the film off as nothing more than that though is a shame, since despite the shallow plot points the film has such rich depth of character here. The real story is not Wendy's attempt to find Lucy but WHY Wendy must find Lucy. There is a statement on the back of the DVD that makes the accusation that the reason this film has an R rating is that censors don't want children to realize that people are lonely and that life is not always peachy. Well, honestly, this film is rated R for the F-words that are spoken (sure, there aren't a LOT, but there are more than 3); but I think that there lies some truth in that statement as well. We (and by we, I mean the general adult public) try so hard today to shield our children from pain that we don't prepare them enough for the actuality of that said pain. When they come face to face with the harsh realities of the world outside they may, sadly, be unable to cope with it. I'm not saying that allowing your children to watch this particular film is going to help them be better able to tackle life's eventual hard-times, but I do feel that more films like this need to be made, with a lighter rating (no need for the language at all here) in order to instill in children the need for a thick skin in this often grim society.

Life is not always peachy; in fact, it rarely ever is.

Michelle Williams is a revelation here, sinking so far into her character that she becomes in recognizable. The way her face contorts when she is hearing the worst news ever (just watch the way she crumbles with subtlety when she is hearing about her car) is just so soul reaching. She is the opposite of showy but she never fails to touch us. We understand why she needs to find Lucy because we can see in her eyes, in her mannerisms, in her voice that this dog is all she has left to hold onto. There are few films that require an actor or actress to carry every scene, and when that film comes along it takes a special actress to actually do just that.

Michelle Williams does JUST that.

The film is not going to be for everyone. With the simple plot progression some will find this boring, but that is a shame in my opinion. These small films are very important in getting to understand ourselves inside and out. `Wendy and Lucy' has been hailed as one of the best films of 2008, and I agree wholeheartedly. It is a story that will touch your heart with its honesty and sincerity. `Marley and Me' may have been a sweet and touching story of a family touched by the life of a dog, but `Wendy and Lucy' is an even more honest and poignant depiction of the deep-seated need for friendship and loyalty in ones life; even if it's from a dog.

***1/2

In the almost aggressively noncommercial "Wendy and Lucy," Michelle Williams plays Wendy Carroll, a cash-strapped young woman who's driving from Indiana to Alaska in search of a job. Riding shotgun with her is a yellow German Shepard mix by the name of Lucy, the most reliable and trustworthy companion any drifter could possibly wish for. Wendy's situation goes from bad to worse when the beat-up `88 Honda Accord she's driving breaks down in a small town in Oregon and, not long after, Lucy herself goes missing. Wendy spends a sizable portion of the movie simply searching for the dog, while she endeavors to survive on an ever-dwindling supply of cash.

That's about all the "plot" there is to "Wendy and Lucy," which is more of a stripped-down, slice-of-life mood piece than an actual drama. Writers Jonathan Raymond and Kelly Reichardt focus almost exclusively on the moment-by-moment struggles Wendy goes through as she attempts to make her way through the world, sans money and virtually all meaningful contact with other human beings. Director Reichardt recounts Wendy's plight with an air of noncommittal detachment, allowing the drama to arise organically out of the simple observation of daily life. There isn't even a musical score to help heighten the drama or tug at the heartstrings.

While I admire what Raymond and Reichardt are attempting to do in "Wendy and Lucy," the fact of the matter is that the movie is almost too "small" for its own good (even in its running time, a mere 80 minutes). Without a sufficient back story to help explain how Wendy ended up in this predicament - and what, if anything, she is running away from - the movie fails to register the kind of emotional and psychological impact it might have had we gotten to know Wendy better. As it is, she remains an intriguing but frustratingly superficial character throughout.

There is, however, one very good reason for checking out "Wendy and Lucy," and that is the tour de force performance by Williams, an actress who, up to this point, has done extraordinarily fine work in secondary roles (the most noteworthy being Heath Ledger's wife in "Brokeback Mountain"), but who has never been called upon to "carry" a whole feature film on her own - until now. The good news is that she proves herself more than equal to the task, imbuing Wendy with a believable amalgam of strengths and vulnerabilities, along with an innate intelligence that serves the character well in the situation in which she finds herself. Williams is richly complemented by Wally Dalton as a compassionate bank guard who offers Wendy the hand of friendship when she needs it most.

Stripped down to the barest essentials of dramaturgy and filmmaking, "Wendy and Lucy" is an "art film" in both the best and worst senses of that term.

Let me first say after I saw this film, I had to think about it and digest what was going on, before I knew what I thought about it. My initial reaction was a feeling of indifference. I liked and didn't like the characters. More later. "Wendy and Lucy" is a slow-moving, character-study film. IT REQUIRES PATIENCE. There's not a heck of a lot of dialogue so you have to read between the lines. It's simple and spare storytelling--much like in the style of Hemingway. It's essentially about a girl who is trying to find her American Dream in Alaska. She feels once she gets there, her life will get better. She reminded me of the guy in "Into the Wild" and Tom Joad in "The Grapes of Wrath." However, this is not a road movie. The whole film takes place in a suburb of Portland, Oregon. She has one mishap happen after another: her car breaks down, she gets arrested for shoplifting, she loses her dog--you get the picture. For the greater part of the film, she is searching for her dog. This may wear on the patience of some viewers. Hang in there. All I can say is this film is not about what happens at the end but rather--how it gets there. Appreciate and understand how Wendy reacts and behaves because I think that is the key to understanding the film. Now let me talk about my feelings of indifference to the characters. At first I thought the security guard at Walgreen's was a jerk because he was sorta like "evicting" Wendy from the parking lot. I thought, what harm was she doing sleeping in her car in the parking lot? It wasn't as if they needed her parking space because there were a sleuth of cars waiting around the corner. But then he tried to help her find her dog and I thought differently of him. The same thing goes for the auto mechanic. At first I thought he was trying to rip her off, but then he proposed a more than fair deal to her regarding her car. I even felt indifferent to Wendy. I thought she was kinda stupid to sleep alone in a deserted park at night. Wasn't she afraid of some crazy people coming up to her? And sure enough--someone did. But then I saw other signs of her that showed how responsible she was, such as keeping track of how much money she spent, etc. So what did I think of this movie? I liked it very much. It is one of the best films of the year, and Michelle Williams turns in one of her best performances to date. She should win the Oscar for Best Actress. She is the main reason why I liked this film so much. The Wendy character is a complex role. She has shades of being a hippie from the '60s: independent and free-spirited. Yet, she's also practical and resourceful like someone from the Great Depression. I liked how there was a "liberal" and "conservative" side to Wendy. Is the director foreshadowing our President-elect in light of his recent nominations for his Cabinet?

'Wendy and Lucy' is the story of a young woman who, while traveling from Indiana to Alaska in hopes of a new life, gets stranded in Portland, Oregon, and loses her dog, Lucy. It's a timely story of loneliness and sacrifice directed expertly by Kelly Reichardt and acted beautifully by Michelle Williams, whose screen presence is overwhelmingly vulnerable. While many may accuse this film of being too nuanced or too quiet to the point of boredom, I implore you to see it for yourself. It's not like this is a silent film. There is dialogue, and it isn't even sparse. Whenever there is no dialogue, the film is still involving all the way up to its heartbreaking final scene. I honestly had no expectations going into this film. I like Michelle Williams and thought it'd be an interesting film to say the least. I was wrong-so wrong-it's way more than that. There hasn't been a film that has made me sob, not just tear up but sob like a baby, in a LONG time, maybe ever. This is one film that will stay with you long after it ends.
So, do you have one hour and fifteen minutes? I know you do. Do yourself a favor and experience 'Wendy and Lucy.'

If you don't feel like slitting your wrists before watching this film, afterward you certainly will. And I don't say that in the sense that WENDY AND LUCY was purely a bad film, because some areas were okay. It's just that the story is so downright depressing that I felt I needed a Prozac the size of a football after viewing it.

I'm a fairly big Indie film fan, so I felt obligated to watch this "American Film Institute Best Picture Winner of 2009." Multiple film critics hailed it as "a stunning achievement."

Really?

Stunning?

Maybe I'm losing my grip on film as a medium, but I found nothing in the film "stunning." In fact, it is so ordinary, the story so plain, the events so ...uneventful, that I was hard-pressed to keep my eyelids from forcing themselves shut.

But all was not lost. Michelle Williams (Land of Plenty) plays the part of a homeless vagabond quite well. Her situation is pitiful, if not acutely accurate in today's struggling times. Williams is the only ray of success in what is otherwise a purely nowhere script. The only exception to this would be her experience of having to sleep in the woods and being presented with the possibility of rape or injury at the hands of a delusional man; the only tension in this otherwise relentlessly boring story.

Even the dog seemed to just be going through the motions, being told what to do, when to hit her cue, when to bark.

Most people go to the movies as a form of escapism. They want to be transported to another realm, another time, or, at the very least, into someone's interesting life. I know. I know. Some film makers want to show us "the real world." But we LIVE in the real world. Why would we want to experience something that we see or live everyday? The simple answer is, "We don't." And this is where Wendy and Lucy let me down. There was so much of ordinary life in here that it made the entire film unremarkable.

I'm not saying lives can't be made interesting. Take a look at Into the Wildand you'll see what I mean. And that's just one example. But watching a car break down, a girl make phone calls, and befriend an old security guard just aren't things that appeal to me. Yes, there's more to Wendy and Lucy than that (the dog, Wendy's struggle to get her back only to realize she can't get her back, etc.), but the progression of how all this happens is, again, exceptionally boring.

I'm still an Indie film fan, and probably will be until the day I die, but I won't be a fan of this flick.

Wendy (Michelle Williams)and her dog Lucy are making their way to Ketchikan to work in a cannery. When Wendy stops in an Oregon town, her car breaks down and she loses Lucy. I'll just say up front, this movie is difficult. You don't know what it is to be on your own until you watch Wendy and Lucy. Homeless, dogless, carless, jobless, friendless and more or less without a family that cares.

Some reviewers have complained about the minimlist style of this film. Wendy's backstory isn't explained and it left some viewers unsatisfied. I loved the fact that this very clean film isn't muddied with expository background. Wendy doesn't have a solid future and no ties to her past-so why take the viewer backward or forward? It was very effective for the screen writer to force the viewer to simply sit with Wendy and live the moments of her life as she was living them.Wendy is just passing through town and we are just passing through her life. Is it more important to know why she ended up where she is or is it enough to just focus on what it's like to be her?

A fantastic story and newly added to my list of favourite films.

I highly recommend that fans of this film read the excellent Timbuktu: A Novel and watch the Australian film Somersault about a girl in similar circumstances.

When a story is referred to as a Slice of Life, I usually take it with a grain of salt because the term is often used so generically. What exactly does Slice of Life mean? I think it means that the story is simple, direct, and realistically represented, with very little attention given to dramatic enhancements. "Wendy and Lucy" works on those levels, so I guess calling it a Slice of Life film would be accurate. What intrigues me is that it's a deeply heartfelt movie that doesn't beat you over the head with obvious heartfelt elements; there are no tragic death scenes or lovelorn pleas, nor is there a sweeping musical score that's mostly made up of strings. It's a character study that intentionally reveals as little as possible; director/co-writer Kelly Reichardt wisely chose to let the course of events speak for the characters. It's relies on small, quiet moments of drama rather than a series of contrived, overblown occurrences.

On the surface, there isn't much to analyze or even describe. Wendy (Michelle Williams) has left her home in Indiana to find work all the way up in Alaska. After her car breaks down in the middle of Oregon, she loses her beloved dog, Lucy, a loyal Golden Retriever mix. She then spends the rest of the film trying to find Lucy, all the while having to deal with a dwindling cash supply, which wasn't all that large to begin with.

I'm reminded of an episode of "The Jack Benny Program" in which Benny appeared on a panel show with two other people. The host asked them about the significance of Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea." The two guests felt that the story was a profound example of man's struggle against nature. Benny felt that it was just about an old man that went fishing. Some will see "Wendy and Lucy" and think it's just about a girl and her dog. Maybe it is, although I tend to doubt it. Wendy is a character I cared deeply about, and this is despite the fact that I knew virtually nothing about her. Somehow, I don't think I'd be able to care if the plot was the extent of the film's depth; there must have been something lying beneath the layers, something that allowed me to look past the stark, subdued nature of the story.

That being said, I'm not sure what that something is. Maybe it's a simple matter of not wanting to see Wendy lost and alone in such a lifeless town, where people speak to her in as few words as possible. Then again, it's quite possible that she was lost and alone to begin with; the circumstances that led to her leaving Indiana are never discussed, but a brief conversation with her sister and her sister's husband hints that she was never close to them. It could also be that the town itself is symbolic of the dead zone in her life. I'm speculating, of course, although there's evidence to support it. Consider the fact that she can't bring herself to spend her money on simple things like a motel room; she would rather sleep in her car and freshen herself in the bathroom of mechanic's garage. It's one thing to save your money--it's another thing to deny yourself access to basic amenities.

Most of the people Wendy runs into are lethargic, monotone, and dull, the unfortunate products of the town they grew up in. When Wendy is busted for shoplifting, even the stocker didn't sound convinced by his own assertion that the store has to set an example. She then meets the local mechanic (Will Patton), who's not interested in her car troubles and gives her the usual spiel about how much such and such a part will cost her. He pauses to take a call from his bookie, and even then, he sounds detached. Wendy also encounters a homeless man when she makes the mistake of deciding to sleep in the woods; it was hard to see him in the darkness, although I heard every word of his truthful but frightening speech about why he hates people.

There is, in fact, only one character that Wendy gets along with: An old, lonely security guard who never tells Wendy his name (Wally Dalton). While he doesn't do much in the way of getting to know her, he's compelled to help her out by letting her use his cell phone for periodic calls to the local dog pound. This may or may not be the film's only attempt at contrived drama. The reason I'm not sure is because the security guard is, in most respects, just as dead inside as everyone else living in that town; he stands alone outside a building that no one ever seems to go into, so it's possible he sees Wendy only as someone to talk to. Then again, would someone in need of human contact even consider lending out his cell phone? From my point of view, that seems like an actual friendly gesture.

It would seem that a lot of "Wendy and Lucy" is open to interpretation. The only clear aspect is the relationship between the title characters, which is the sole driving force of the plot. But does there need to be anything more? After all, the film does have a definite beginning, middle, and end, and this is despite the fact that there's so little emphasis on character development or even basic narrative exposition. And somehow, we're made to care for Wendy, a troubled young woman who only wanted to get to Alaska with her dog. The fact that we don't know where she came from or where she'll end up may not be all that satisfying, but hey, that's what you get from a Slice of Life.

Wendy is passing through a small Oregon town with her dog, Lucy. She's trying to get to Alaska to make some money. She sleeps in her car until it breaks down. Thus begins a depressing chain of events for Wendy. First, she shoplifts some dog food, is then arrested, and has to leave her dog behind. When Wendy comes back to where Lucy was left, she is gone. She has to pay bail to get out, when she never had much money to begin with. It would have been easier just to pay for the dog food. While her car is being worked on, she has nowhere to sleep. And so on.

Most of the movie has Wendy searching for Lucy. You may think at first glance that it wouldn't hold your interest. On the contrary, even though Wendy wasn't the most likable character, and you don't even know much about her, I was rooting for her to find Lucy. My boyfriend even asked me to fast forward it, so he could find out if she found her dog. It reminded me of similar movies, such as Ruby in Paradise or Into the Wild where there are only a few characters interacting with each other, but the main actor/actress carries the film.

There was sadness and beauty in the simplicity of the film. Even the way it was filmed made you feel lonely somehow. The ending made me cry, because I could feel the love that Wendy felt for Lucy, and it made me want to help her.

Would I recommend it to people? Yes, but only those that have the patience for a movie like this. It's not for everyone. But, if you can look beyond the simple story, you might find a treasure.

Independent film maker Kelly Reichardt takes a tough but tender look at the people in America who are one sickness or accident away from personal catastrophe. Wendy and her dog Lucy are stranded in a depressing mill town in Oregon after leaving Indiana for a better life in Alaska. She's frugal and resourceful, recording her expenditures in a spiral notebook. She sleeps in her car, collects cans and bottles for spare change, and freshens up in gas station bathrooms. She observes to a security guard who's befriended her that you can't get a job without an address or phone, to which he replies: "Heck, you can't get an address without an address, or a job without a job. It's all rigged." Minor infractions with rule-keeping bureaucrats reap major consequences. When Wendy's twenty-year old car needs a $2,000 repair, we find her in the last scene hopping a train. But for where? She's a person like many people in America who have no past and no future, and who are going nowhere, both literally and figuratively. Even Lucy's fate is not what we expected.