From the director of 'Old Joy' comes the brilliant new film 'Wendy and Lucy' or one girl and her dog as it could have been titled. Kelly Reichardt directs Michelle Williams as Wendy as she suffers the trials and tribulations of travelling across small town America with just her dog Lucy for company. If you've seen 'Old Joy' you'll already have some idea of the pacing of this film, more concerned with cinematography than dialogue the film is shot amazingly letting ordinary things such as car parks and train carriages take centre stage and become oddly beautiful. Of course the film wouldn't be anything if it wasn't for the amazing central performance by Williams as the head strong yet vulnerable Wendy and the joy of this film is that this is only a snap shot of her life, we as the viewer only get to see a small portion of what is obviously a bigger story. There is also a great performance from Wally Dalton as the security guard and a small part for William Oldham (Bonnie Prince Billy) as a traveller met upon the path. By taking such a simple story and telling it in such poetic fashion Reichardt has raised her profile as one to watch on the independent film circuit and given us an understated gem that will warm and break the heart in equal measure.
Review of Wendy and Lucy
