User Reviews

To say that this film is spare is to be generous; and, to whatever extent actors become their characters, Michelle Williams becomes Wendy, a young woman that is hanging by a thread. Wendy is doing her best, with little support and money, to survive day to day and to maintain her dignity. Along the way she loses her dog Lucy, the only stable and loving relationship in her life. Ultimately, she is faced with making a heartbreaking decision that their mutual welfare will depend upon. As her car (and bed) breaks down and resources dwindle, she collects cans and bottles and shoplifts dog food. She encounters a group of homeless people making a fire, a self-righteous store clerk, a smug auto mechanic, a sympathetic security guard, and a psychotic drifter, among others. We see each of them from the perspective of a young woman on the verge of economic collapse and who is gradually being transformed into someone facing the possibility of homeless destitution. Wendy offers a lens through which we can see such a transformation evolve. All homeless people, unless born into this condition, were something and somewhere else first. Wendy is such a person. As the economy declines and more and more people retreat into survival mode, it will be harder for them, for us, to empathize with the Wendys of the world, young people with once bright futures now facing desperate and maybe devastating times. I have heard it said that empathy is the first hostage of survival. Wendy and Lucy is an important little film, a slice of life, that not enough people will see and that offers us a window on what more and more young people will be facing for some time to come. This film pleads with us not to close our eyes or turn our backs on them.

Man, I'm a sucker for this kind of picture. Realism. A movie about real people, in real situations, just like you and me. No frills, no fantasy, no flash. It's not that I don't like movies with these elements in them; It's that a prefer movies without them. I like Michelle Williams without the make-up - just a waif caught in a tough situation in a generic Americana setting. It looks like a small town, but I see the credits say it's Portland Oregon.

I'm also a sucker for trains, so I loved all the train shots. Is there a symbolism to the trains? Funny how many times a forlorn train horn is heard nearby, punctuating the quiet desperation of Wendy's plight. I loved the security guy (Wally Dalton) - he shows us there's hope no matter what the situation.....there really is always someone who cares. I sure hope Wendy makes it to Alaska; she deserves to.

For those who like this one, you'll like a similar movie I viewed just a few days previous; it has a similar pace, and feel as this one, and a storyline with a little more tension: "Frozen River". Catch it if you can.

The true triumph of this film is its ability to say so much about the cold, cruel reality of just how close some people are to breaking their banks and their hearts.

What fascinates me is: there are a few big budget films out there right now - all scrambling desperately to capture the same themes as W&L - that have no concept of how real people really act and survive. Those filmmakers must be pulling their hair out screaming "how can she say it all with one woman and a dog, and I can't say a damned thing with all these great special effects???"

That is the joy in this film. The simple, honest, brutal truth of now. Enjoy.

This laconic indie film can put you to sleep in you're not in the right frame of mind. Turn off the phone. Stop checking Facebook. Set aside 1:20 to just concentrate. Lean and simple--but not simplistic--this tells a story that rends any heart still beating, yet it does it quietly, with dignity and without dramatics. Lucy is the key. The cruelty around Wendy is appalling, always doubling down to smash one of life's apparent losers. There's the young creep, lacking a shred of empathy or insight, who blithely declares that if she couldn't afford Lucy, Wendy shouldn't have her.

Yet, ultimately what Wendy does with Lucy is the key to the rest of her life. What will happen to Wendy? No one knows for sure. That's a deliberate ambiguity. If you wanted a clear resolution, you'll have to watch a different film. It takes awhile to get where it is going--something that pierces the heart and creates echoes of calamity as well as growth--but it gets there. Consider the slow pace a journey as well as a destination.

Greetings again from the darkness. Absolutely stunning performance from the beautiful Michelle Williams, who somehow doesn't look beautiful here and is very believable as the on-the-road loner in search of salvation at a cannery in Alaska. What doesn't work is everything else.

I understand the minimalist approach, but this story doesn't differ much from if you asked a junior high student to write a story about running away from home with her dog. Sure the serpentine belt wouldn't get mentioned, but losing the dog, even if only momentarily, would probably be a sub-plot.

Don't misunderstand. It is a very well shot film and realistic to the point of dread, but we are never really provided any reason to care about Wendy or Lucy ... other than basic human caring.

Will Patton adds a nice, but brief, touch as the auto mechanic and Wally Dalton somehow captured my interest more than Wendy. For the full impact, you have to know that Wally Dalton plays a Walgreens security guard who stares at the parking lot for 12 hours a day.

Michelle Williams deserves the kudos for her performance, but I believe the film itself is much overrated.

Sometimes the simplest stories are the most effecting and the simplest characters are the most endearing. Wendy and Lucy is a perfect example of this. When discussing this film however one must praise Michelle Williams. Before she even utters a word with her body movement and her facial features we get a sense of who Wendy is. We have seen this character before and we know her. Wendy is a simple girl with a simple purpose but Michelle Williams gives her the grace and kindness that makes her seem real and is all the more gut wrenching when things start crashing down around her. Most actresses her age with her resume would scoff at the idea of playing such a simple and expressionless character who hasn't showered for days and wears cut off brown pants and an unflattering blue sweatshirt but she breathes life into Wendy and adds an extra dimension to her. Of course a great performance would be wasted without a narrative for Wendy.

As the film unfolds the narrative is quite simplistic. Wendy is stuck in a small town in Oregon on her way to Alaska and wants to get on her way as fast as possible before her money runs out. There however are events that will unfold that prevent this from happening. There is little surprise and in fact the narrative is quite predictable with most events foreshadowed. As these events unfold however they are still impactful and meaningful because Wendy does not see them coming. As simplistic as this narrative may be there is complexity to it in the form of political commentary on small town America and how the people that live there are struggling. Wendy herself is fleeing Indiana living in her car and managing a small sum of money to go to the promise land of Alaska since they are hiring. The town is suffering from the closing of a mill with few jobs and is inhabited by many disenfranchised individuals. While this film could be fixated on these points Kelly Reichardt has crafted them very subtlety into the character and the setting. Characters don't stand around saying small own America is dying, but we can easily pick this up from the plot and the visuals of a broken down town with many closed business and downtrodden individuals. Usually films of this type heap on background but instead there are only a few scenes to decipher Wendy's story and motivation.

The soundtrack for this film is Wendy humming quietly to herself which when employed help foster a sense of intimacy. Kelly Reichardt shoots the film with a naturalistic feel with a steady and fluid motion of the camera. There are many long takes with tracking shots as the camera follows Wendy as she walks around this town but this is contrasted with close ups where the camera gets in tight to see the expressions on Wendy's face. There is only natural light used and most of the scenes take place out doors with wind blowing through Wendy's hair and building being nothing more than a backdrop. All of these aspects together create a sense of intimacy with Wendy. Wendy and Lucy shows us that a great film really only needs a honest and meaningful connection to a character through narrative, acting and mise-en-scène.

As much as I think this film is both memorable and worth seeing, there were a few too many missing elements and underdeveloped story parts. In some ways, it ends up coming off as the "don't leave home" version of a "don't do drugs" film for teens.

The biggest complement I can give this film is that the realism of views, and in some cases beauty, sticks with you. That has to do almost entirely because of how well it's filmed, the imagery it captures. To the actors' credit, everyone is believable and there are no cliché characters.

Another interesting aspect of the film is the soundtrack - or essentially the lack thereof. It's integrated into the film, fits the mood of the story, and very memorable.

WOW, that is easily the most depressing film I saw this year, hands down. Michelle Williams and Lucy the Dog star as Wendy and Lucy, respectively, in this remarkably affecting drama about a poor, independent woman escaping from her undisclosed troubles and making her way to Alaska with her dog. All the two have in life is each other, money is tight, food is hard to come by, and sleeping in the car is the only option for Wendy. A devastating turn of events happens to Wendy, and Lucy subsequently goes missing, leading Wendy on a mission to recover the only companion she has in her life. Along the way, Wendy encounters indifferent individuals whose actions are driven by self-righteous attitudes, but Wendy also finds help in an unlikely place, a compassionate security guard. In many ways, Wendy and Lucy succeeds in areas where Bolt (2008) came up short, but they both approach their themes in very different ways. Wendy and Lucy is absolutely heartbreaking, forcing me to cry out "NO!" twice in its duration. The ending was an absolute shocker to me, and actually squeezed a few tears out of my eyes.

In this film, Lucy becomes a character in her own right, a brilliantly effective choice. Lucy becomes not just a symbol of everything Wendy loves in this world, but her only hope for survival. It is never specified, but the audience member is allowed to create an entire backstory behind these main characters. I like to believe that Lucy is a childhood pet of Wendy's, who helped Wendy through a difficult childhood, perhaps with abusive parents, in a foster home, whatever you would like to believe. It makes Wendy's situation that much more affecting. If you've ever felt like you have but one object in this world to turn to in times of trouble, and you've felt like escaping from chains that are holding you down, and beginning a new life for yourself someplace new. If you've ever felt so cut off from other individuals in this world, like screaming at the top of your lungs. If you've ever been placed in such a desperate situation, where your livelihood is threatened, and all that you love seems as though it is vanishing before you, you will undoubtedly shed a tear at this incredibly powerful drama about the connections humans make, the friendships we forge, and the sacrifices we must sometimes make.

9/10

This review is coming from the perspective of a viewer in the exact same situation as Michelle Williams' character. This review will not summarize any key plot points nor try to pretentiously deconstruct the film in the air of a film school thesis, this review will put it to you as truthfully as the film has.

I honestly feel that Wendy and Lucy shines a light on a part of America that is widely ignored; a part of America that's left behind by the faults and actions of The Bush Administration and those who feed off of greed and capitalism. For those who fit within these margins will go see this movie and fail to grasp the understanding of how it is to be desperately broke and have nothing else to hold on to but a few scraps of memories, soiled clothes and your trusted dog to help prevail what's left of you dignity, happiness and sanity. This is not an escapist film, for escapism is for people who can't cope with their own realities. That's why there is so much success in drugs and the media. Wendy should be praised for holding onto her convictions and not falling deeper through escapism. But when your reality is so harsh and greater problems seem to arise everyday, she can't even afford the luxury of escapism as others do, so why should the audience have any exception? Life is very complicated and it can't be wrapped up in a limited amount of time. The open ending reveals to us that nothing is certain, but it certainly must be better than right now. There should be no ending, no "to be continued", only "What now?" "Where to go next?" "What am I gonna do" "Where will I sleep tonight and will it be a safe spot?" If those aren't the questions going through your head as you watch Wendy in the end then you have lived a privileged life and will never have to worry about being thrust into such a situation where you have to give up everything you have left in hopes of things getting better soon.

In a recession, this film should be seen as a lesson of how to live and what to do when comes the moment where you lose everything that's ever meant anything and how to live and restart from there. Of course every decision you make isn't the smartest one, but when you're desperate and have no other choice then you have to do whatever it takes to survive, even if that risks you a day in jail.

We observe Wendy and Lucy from a voyeuristic standpoint. We meet up with them in the park, observe their actions, then watch them leave. For those with a sympathy toward the downtrodden we tend to feel a little sadness, maybe even a little guilt for not being able to help that person out more than we could. But there are also some who have been raised with everything handed to them and with easy opportunities. They look at people like Wendy and Lucy as a stupid bum who can't get it together, without ever realizing that not everyone has it as easy as they did.

I have no idea how to end this review, but I just thought I'd write it as a bit of a rebuttal to all those who have completely missed the point of the main character and her actions which have led the movie to it's conclusion. If you've never truly suffered like the way Michelle Williams' character has then this movie will be lost on you. You may relate more with the clerk in the supermarket. But for those of you who've ever had to live in their car for a stretch clawing onto every dollar for dear life hoping to one day catch a break, then I must warn you that this movie will make you cry. And there's is absolutely no problem with that. I know how it feels, and sometime you just have to let it out in order to go on. Sometime you even have to let go of the things you love the most if you even want things to get better. For some it's impossible to do, but it's just as hard to watch.

As I've said many times in my reviews, I will watch Michelle Williams do just about anything. I think she's one of the greatest actors of all time and certainly of this generation. In one of her earlier starring roles, as the titular Wendy, Williams is able to carry an otherwise very somber movie and bring a sense of relatability and gravitas to the story of a women struggling to stay afloat. Especially for a dog person, this film is particularly difficult to watch, but it also feels essential and timely, even 11 years later.While it may not be a film I check out again, I can once again appreciate the artistry of Kelly Reichardt, as I did with Meek's Cutoff. She remains an essential part of indie-filmmaking.

7.3/10

Is there no more great frontier? Has time run out on those who look west to a better tomorrow? 'Wendy and Lucy' is a small movie with its scope set on a larger, subtle target. Soft-spoken but very admirable, Kelly Reichardt has crafted a touching story of one girl's endless search for her dog.

On the road to Alaska in search for better economic opportunity, Wendy finds herself in a small Oregon town where its citizens seem to live on the fringe of poverty long after job-providing factories have closed up shop. Keeping track of every penny she spends, Wendy's car suddenly won't start. And after an attempt to shoplift a bit of food sidelines her, she loses track of Lucy. A dog, a companion, and her best friend.

A determined Wendy searches for Lucy in every nook and cranny. Played by a quiet Michelle Williams, this is a subdued performance but a strong one. A portrait of loneliness, of heartbreak. She lives a life far from fortunate, but she holds her head high and looks to Alaska for hope. And in a small neighborhood where her situation seems to only go from bad to worse, Wendy has nobody to rely on but a friendly elderly security guard. Giving her a sense of moral support she probably is in desperate need for, we expect emotion. But staring panic in the face, Wendy remains strong. Her first moment of visible emotional anguish and vulnerability comes after a terrifying encounter in a forest in the middle of the night. A glimpse into her future as a vagabond? 'Wendy and Lucy' comes at a time when our own economy is in a state of perpetual free fall, which helps Reichardt drive her timely message home. It is these often seemingly mundane and unimportant everyday activities that may cause the film to drag, though it comes in at a slim 80 minutes. But it is these events that help the film and Williams find personality. 'Wendy and Lucy' asks us to be strong, to stick with our character. And it offers an ending that will pull at the heartstring of even the most hardened cynic. A tough, very challenging situation you and I would never want to find ourselves in. It speaks of conviction, of doing the right thing even when it's impossibly difficult.

Raw but surprisingly gripping, Reichardt does much with little. It's a touching picture, a bittersweet one. 'Wendy and Lucy' may feel minor, but it's a fine piece of beautifully told cinema. A snapshot that gains more appreciation upon reflection.

More reviews: rottentomatoes.com/vine/journal_view.php?journalid=219276&view=public

The critic's darling Wendy and Lucy has a powerful performance at its center courtesy of Michelle Williams, however, to me, it doesn't have very much else going for it. For the most part, I was absolutely bored and pretty much uncaring about what would happen. Is it some masterpiece of minimalism? Does it capture the turmoil and strife of a down-on-her-luck woman trying desperately to restart her life while constantly being knocked down by the fates? Perhaps, but do I care? Not really. Our lead ends the film right at the point in which she began it, in Oregon, en route to Alaska, without a car. Has she evolved? Has her situation been bettered or worsened? No and no. This film is a slice of life picture that comes full circle in a very short 80 minutes, taking us for a ride that inevitably goes nowhere. It's a shame too because Williams is fantastic, I just wish there was a story to make her hard work meaningful.

The simple story deals with Wendy and her dog Lucy on a journey to Alaska in search of work to make some much needed money. Starting from Indiana, they have made it as far as Oregon where their car finally breaks down in a Walgreens parking lot. With little money, no place to stay, and the closest garage closed for the day, Wendy decides to try her luck shoplifting in order to feed herself and her companion. That idea won't work, though, and after spending an eternity in jail—getting fingerprinted and fined—she returns to Jack's grocery to find Lucy gone. The rest of the film then pits her against the world as she looks for her friend, tries to get her car repaired, and attempts to find a safe place to spend the night … all of which lead to tragic results on her existential journey. Repeatedly stepped on and beaten by bad luck and ill fate, you have to at least give her credit for never giving up. Despite the tears and the desperation, Wendy does her best to stay composed, meeting a couple kind souls on the way, and allow herself to truck on to a hopefully brighter future.

With plenty of dead air moments, devoid of speech, and its fair share of long takes that show pretty much the same activity over and over again, you can't fault the movie's realism. It's a very cinema verite style, depicting real time events in an artistic way. Carefully composed and deliberately paced, Wendy and Lucy does its best to feel as though it's a document of her life for these three dreadful days out west, but that authenticity does not always equal entertainment. You feel for Wendy—that is for sure—yet you also start to wonder why you even care. I respect the fact that she is attempting to survive by herself, without help, but did she have to do so this recklessly? Couldn't she have worked a bit at a fast food place, making some cash and making sure her car was in good enough shape to make it all the way to Alaska? Why must she have just gone out and hoped for the best? Without any background or reason for her behavior, we will never know these answers. Instead we are expected to accept the fact that she is there, this string of bad luck happened, and we must sit and see how it all works out. However, when all is said and done, we are left with the exact same questions we had when it began. Nothing is clarified and we still have no idea how the journey is going to end.

But I guess we aren't supposed to really know. This film seems to be a showcase for mood and life with its crazy ebbs and flows and how one overcomes it all. Wendy meets her fair share of jerks and people who mean well, but can't look at the big picture. She also finds a few kind souls that do their job with enough care and tact to realize a troubled girl when they see one, helping as they can without breaking their own backs or patronizing the recipient. As a result we are given a couple nice performances from Will Patton and Wally Dalton. Patton plays the mechanic that seems to know his job and realizes that he can make a living without screwing his customers. He gives the facts plain and simple yet with a human touch to show his sympathy and willingness to help despite the fact that he won't turn himself into a charity. As for Dalton, his security guard watching over Walgreens and in effect Wendy herself, he is the heart of the entire film. A literal guardian angel, he who begins the bad luck by waking her up to move her car, thus discovering it has died, soon becomes her greatest ally in finding a way to get out of Oregon and continue her migration north.

With all that, those roles that stand out and the story that falls flat as it seeps so far to the background it becomes non-existent, it is Michelle Williams that makes the movie worth checking out. Her strength and vulnerability is on display for the duration, constantly battling each other as her courage is tested multiple times. This is a girl that can take care of herself yet still needs a companion like her dog Lucy to survive what life throws at her. When that small piece of love is taken from her, she is unable to cope with what needs to be done. Never a woman in need of a handout, Williams' Wendy is a transient being in search of meaning for her life. I truly hope she finds it, I'm just sorry that this film isn't the vehicle to show whether she does.

Do not watch this movie. It is not emotional. It is not in the artistic side too - even if you find it that way - there is less possibility you're going to enjoy it. This is simply not for fun. Also, it is not a story you'd like to go for or which will make you feel heartfelt. Don't go for it.

Kelly Reichardt's ("Old Joy") new film holds our interest for its 80 running minutes thanks to Michelle Williams's captivating performance.

The story of Wendy (Williams), who hits the road with her dog Lucy intending to get to Alaska and start a new life, is too vague and minimalist to work as a feature. As a character study, it's underwritten; as a social commentary on our current crisis, it's too shallow and naïve. Had Reichardt gone deeper into any of these directions, her movie would be much more interesting; the way it is, it feels like one of those shorts that went on for too long when they could've been more concise. Maverick filmmaker Todd Haynes ("Velvet Goldmine", "Far from Heaven", "I'm Not There.") and the promising Phil Morrison (director of the sublime "Junebug") are some of the movie's producers, which shows Reichardt has her own admirers. Let's just hope that, next time, she finishes her job. 5.5/10.

Beautifully shot, very well executed, but leaving too many things unanswered or explained leaves the viewer frustrated and wanting more. But all of that aside, Michelle Williams in her most subtle yet striking performance of her career is absolutely mind blowing. After seeing what she could accomplished given a 'baity' role in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain, Williams has transformed herself into a leading lady well worthy of better, more challenging roles that will make her one to watch for a gold statue in the coming years.

She shows just enough to fall in love but not enough for you to want to stay. She never reveals her hand but lets you believe that she could. I foresee a few accolades for her in this awards season. Even watching her interact with people after the screening, Williams is a real doll outside of Hollywood. She's proud of her film, (as she should) and engages herself as a magnet of beauty.

Regardless of that, watch a star be born in this intimate portrayal of loss, redemption, and despair.

**1/2 / ****

This indie picture "Wendy and Lucy" has in some sense a close resemblance to "Into the Wild", yet her the lead character is not as fortunate nor does the character experience good bonding friendship along her journey of hardship as "Into the Wild" was more of a discovery film and the lead was a male gender. Still this film will have you feeling sorry for it's lead as it shows just how bad life can be for some people as obstacle after obstacle can come up along their journey of life.

Michelle Williams(in one of her most unattractive roles) is Wendy a young Indiana woman who's became a loner and drifter and she's set out on her own to start a new life and journey. Wendy has only two things left to live for that's her loving sidekick a dog named Lucy and it's her journey and dream to make it to Alaska and work at a fishery. Along the way she gets stuck in the Pacific Northwest as this is where the film starts to twist with hardship and it emotionally and vividly shows how a journey of life can be a struggle with uncertainty and loneliness. It all starts as Wendy who's already cash strapped and broke has her car break down, as she has to drift and search for help. Conflict is the norm along the way from her getting caught shoplifting to having a tough time fitting in and making friends with the townspeople. Then to top off all the trouble she's separated from her dog Lucy on the roadsides.

All from then on one can see from the direction that this film goes it shows that no matter how much you want a journey of escape, when your forced into a world of no income, friends, or transportation you fall into the limits of the world at hand and no one will feel the duty to help you in troubled times. Overall "Wendy and Lucy" is one of those films that you will leave feeling sympathetic for the lead character yet it will teach you a lesson that without resources and connections the journey of life and your traveling destination becomes harsh almost impossible and as you see in the films end before you reach your new discovery destination you most likely have to give up your most precious bonding friend. As in life during a travel of journey you learn every time you leave somewhere or someone.

Far more refreshing to see the first and perhaps only truly flawless film of 2008 is the fact that Wendy and Lucy may be one of the first pieces of American contemporary art to both attempt to and succeed at encapsulating the entire human experience, particularly during our current universal financial and cultural malaise.

I was particularly impressed to see a female writer/director--an American female, at that--who so deftly crafted a film with no rough edges, an efficient and earnest work that suffered none from any kind of artificial maudlin sentimentality.

From moment one, it is clear that Ms. Reichardt has paid well-deserved attention to the works of Gus Van Sant (and in fact she gives thanks to Van Sant's genius cinematographer, Harris Savides, responsible for the ambrosial Death Trilogy). But too has this vibrant and adept filmmaker paid great notice to the neo-realists of yesteryear, particularly De Sica (the entire film can almost be seen as a contemporized Umberto D.).

It is thus both for the content and form alike that Wendy and Lucy is indeed an imperative film in today's society, one that I hope will have a lasting shelf life and will allow Ms. Reichardt to continue doing what she clearly does best.

Bravo.

(Also, I've decided to add this short digression in here, as I'm saddened--though not surprised--by a great deal of the antipathy being dumped upon this fine American minimalist film. I've seen many reviews castigate Wendy and Lucy for being a film "without enough depth or background," with characters whose plights are far too "simplistic," or for simply being too nihilistic and bleak in its outlook of our current times.

It is because Ms. Reichardt has decided to cast away the prototypical shackles of American films and to give us an earnest story with characters plucked directly from today's quotidian struggles that she, and her entire crew, should be applauded.

Reichardt's unique choice of creating a film of empathy is unique, as, more and more, our American filmmakers choose to make films of sympathy: films that tell you too much, that give you all of the answers, and that break away from any semblance of truth or universality.

Fortunately for those who had difficulty sitting still through a quiet, unassuming film such as Wendy and Lucy, there is more than enough television on the airwaves these days to satisfy. And fortunately, for the rest of us, those who are actually going through the very struggles that Wendy endures or who at least have any kind of awareness of these struggles, there is this brilliant and vital film.)

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.