Wendy and Lucy
Dir: Kelly Reichardt
Rating: 4.0
Oscilloscope Pictures
80 Minutes
In desperate times we often make desperate (and dumb) decisions — and so it was with Wendy. Based on the short story Train Choir by Jon Raymond, Kelly Reichardt of Old Joy fame co-wrote and directed Wendy and Lucy – a slow, uncluttered and moving story of Wendy Carol (Michelle Williams) and her dog, Lucy. The two pals drive from Indiana to Alaska in search of work in fish canneries and a new life, but they become stalled (literally) in beautiful Oregon when Wendy’s car fails to cooperate.
Williams’ brilliant, understated performance, as well as the close up, wandering camera work and sparse content of this sweet film transformed me into a voyeur watching a young woman slide in and out of contentment, sadness, desperation, resourcefulness, defeat and resilience. As with voyeurs, you only observe the “now” without the benefit of what led up to the situation or where it will end. The only glimpse into what came “before” is shown via a very short phone conversation with Wendy’s brother-in-law and tangentially with her sister. In this scene, you get the idea that there is not much connection or support in Wendy’s life, which makes it easier to understand her devotion to her pooch, and her numb reaction to most of her dilemmas.
On the other hand, Wendy makes ridiculously stupid decisions that thwart her ability to keep or care for her loving sidekick, in addition to putting her own life at risk. I wanted to scream at the screen as I watched her head down these ill-considered paths. Much like watching the predictable scene of a heroine trying to escape from a madman, you still gasp when the heroine trips and falls or decides to walk past the evil guy’s arm as he plays dead. WHAT WAS SHE THINKING??? You hope that Wendy’s naivete and haplessness serve as lessons well learned rather than seeing her end up with the creep grabbing her ankle.
More than a series of wrong turns, Wendy’s journey is peppered with quite a few tender moments that included the music of her soft, innocent humming when things are going well, an eventual warming up to a security guard who comes to her aid and the unexpected kindnesses from some strangers, including a hobo fellow named “Icky” (Will Oldham). The ever present charm and mystery of the chugging trains and choo-chooing whistles added to the wanderlust of Wendy’s world and bode her future.
by Jane Hruska
