WENDY AND LUCY (2008)

Directed By: Kelly Reichardt
Written By: Kelly Reichardt & Jon Raymond
Based on the Short Story “Night Choir” by Jon Raymond
Cinematography By: Sam Levy
Editor: Kelly Reichardt

Cast: Michelle Williams, Larry Fessenden, Will Patton, Will Oldham, Wally Delton


I’m not going to lie this isn’t the liveliest of films, Some might find it downright dull. Strangely I found it compelling. I will admit it’s not the usual type of film I find myself enjoying. It’s short but I never found myself really bored. It’s a character piece that plays like a living book, No real story just circumstances and the more you learn about characters and the situations are more by chance then spelled out. It is a study in minimalism but it feels like much happens.

I guess the film is sharing in the experience of the main character played by Michele Williams. She has just stopped in this town on her way to Alaska with her used car and her dog. We go on her journey with her that plays like a tragedy though luckily sometimes light shines into her life it quickly feels like a cruel joke.

Michelle Williams really shows her talents as an actress willing to take risks to prove she is more then a pretty face. Coming from being a child star to a teen pin-up queen on “Dawson’s Creek” (Though I first remember her from SPECIES) This film is almost a one woman show, but the side characters though minor make a impact in their own way like reactionary props she works with and uses to shape her performance. While this film is not the liveliest and most exciting It’s still phenomenal. Not exactly a star making role, but one that shows her death and commitment to her craft.

To tell the truth initially I had no interest in the film. I had heard of it but really didn’t compel me. I more or less caught the film on a whim and was pleasantly surprised.

GRADE: A