One of the films which was only starting to get a bit of attention when it made its stop at VIFF was Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy.
Reichardt’s Old Joy made quite a splash when it premiered at Rotterdam in 2006, eventually making its way through the festival circuit and onto DVD (care of the good folks at Kino) and with the release of her new film, Reichardt is behing heralded as a “master” of the American independent scene.
I was curious about the film mostly because of Michelle Williams who has, over the years, shown she has great talent and what better way to showcase that talent than to act alongside, mostly, a dog? Wendy and Lucy features Williams as Wendy, a young woman traveling to Alaska and a possibly lucrative job but when her car breaks down in Oregon, Wendy is faced with one stumbing block after another. The film’s limited website goes on to say that the film “addresses issues of sympathy and generosity at the edges of American life, revealing the limits and depths of people’s duty to each other in tough times.”
Taking a look at the female performaces that I’ve seen so far this year, there aren’t many that stand out as having possible award potential and if Williams’ turn here is as strong as the trailer and reviews suggest, I would not be surprised to see her get a nomination. It’s a bit of a reach but one never knows, especially when there have been minor rumblings of another American indie (Ballast) possibly making a run at the awards.
Wendy and Lucy will play at the Film Forum in New York City beginning December 10th and will be followed by a national expansion in early 2009. Here’s hoping we get another chance to see it.
Trailer is tucked under the seat!
I really wanted to see this at TIFF, but I couldn’t get tickets. It got great reviews in the local alternative papers (5 stars in Eye Weekly). Michelle Williams is amazing, quickly rising to the top of my favourite actors list. Hope it makes it to theatres in Toronto!
Oh I really don’t think that the trailer does it any justice at all. It’s a little messy and doesn’t convey that much other than saying that lot’s of critics liked it.
You can get the impression that it could be a strong independent film and fit nicely into that labelled genre, but story-wise? What am I getting other than it’s a homeless girl moving from town to town with her dog?
I’d like to have been given a little more understanding of the story and drama from the trailer.
so Marina, you didn’t see this film? Look forward to this film immensely.
Richard – I think you’re right in that this isn’t the best cut trailer but it does show Williams in action and really, that seems to be the selling point – and so it works for me.
And rot…no, I had to skip the screening for an interview. Bloody hell. To make matters worse, there was a screening on a night I had off but I was really sick so I went home instead. I regret that decision; should have stuck it out.
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I just saw this. It was good, Williams is especially good but I already knew what she was capable of.
At the same time this movie kind of pisses me off. It’s extremely manipulative, I mean fuck, you lose a dog and spend 80 minutes getting shit on everywhere how else does it seem. Imagine if you removed Selma’s fantasies in Dancer in the Dark and that’s the kind of glumness and despair to expect here. Not much dignity or joy to be found, so be prepared to have a really shitty time, even though its still a good movie.
I think the Toronto critics awards are wrong to give this their top honor, and there are definitely better female performances this year than Williams. In the battle between this Van Santish quiet film and Paranoid Park, the actual Van Sant movie wins.
3.5/5
Kurt and I talked at length on the latest Cinecast about Wendy and Lucy. Show should be up sometime Tuesday night.
Agreed Goon. It’s a good movie but not really a great one. Although it is quite beautifully shot and quite naturally acted, any time you’ve got a dog in there you just know it is going to be manipulative.
Williams really does elevate the picture though, and there are some real treats in the supporting cast, not the least of which is Will Patton and Larry Fessenden.
I pretty much agree that the film was good, but not great. It was shockingly simple and ended abruptly, but I don’t mind that.
One thing though…can you really tell a story that involves a dog without it being manipulative? Aren’t all movies manipulative? I can answer that. Yes they are. Some more than others. And I’m not sure a story like this could be told without a form of manipulation.
Sure all movies are manipulative, but some are more than others. It isn’t just the dog, its the fact that when you have a movie that shits on its main character as much as W&L does…
basically I bring up ‘manipulative’ because I was aware of it as it was happening, rather than diving right into it and realizing it afterwards. It kind of took me out of the film. I still absolutely needed to keep watching to find out what happens to that character and her dog, but certain plotpoints gave me more of a “Oh come on, really?” than an “Oh no!”
I have generally have few problems with being manipulated (depending, of course), but the movie sure felt real, like we were peeking in on a point in her life Truman Show style. Should be a no-brainer Oscar nomination for Michelle.
I guess I didn’t find that she was shit on nearly as much as you did. She was just down on her luck, as many people are at certain times of their lives. And just like with ‘Into The Wild’, I just couldn’t sympathize as much with characters who seem to have brought this upon themselves.
With “Into the Wild” I didn’t exactly sympathize with McCandless, but definitely empathized. I mean that he was on a grand adventure and it fucked up. In Grizzly Man you can think Treadwell was naive and brought it on himself and still feel sorry for him.
I finally caught up with this the other day. Agreed that it’s good but I also didn’t love it. Williams is great but I didn’t care for her character and I found it hard to put myself in her place making the decisions that she made – specifically thinking of the dog food that leads to the total downfall. Like Jay, I didn’t find the film all that depressing, just a series of smaller events that snowball into bigger problems and though the film did end abruptly, I really liked the open ended closing scene. I like that we can decide whether she “makes it” or not.
so in contrast with the Toronto critics awards we as a concensus would give it the equiv. of a 100% rottentomatoes rating even though there’s no passionate love for it.
Goon, pretty much…