CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Greekguy Although this film can stand proudly on its own, its themes, rhythms and camera work are strongly reminiscent of Italian Neorealism in general and Vittorio De Sica's "Umberto D." in particular. Indeed, I was surprised to find that the script came from a story by the film's writer Jonathan Raymond, because it feels more like director Kelly Reichart's homage to those wonderful Italian films of the 40s and 50s where hope and despair walk hand in hand and grit replaces glamour.This is the story of a young woman and her dog, lost in the middle of a recession and stranded at the frayed edge of an apathetic country. The dog is good, but it is the young woman who steals the show. Michelle Williams is always believable and always interesting, and that's good news because she's on screen nearly every minute of this film.Since her role in this film, Williams has gone from strength to strength, and is arguably one of the most intriguing talents in acting today. It is to be hoped that we hear more from Reichart as well, because with "Wendy and Lucy", she has shown us a deft hand and a kind and caring sensibility.

Red_Identity Wendy and Lucy works because it's straightforward and to the point, and because there's no pandering or melodrama. The bare bones approach, with no actual film score and the way the story simply pans out in the span of a few days, is incredibly investing, and also quite moving. Michelle Williams dominates the screen, and she's practically all we see in almost every scene. She doesn't say much or have to do much, but Michelle Williams' presence is enough to radiate the screen with her warmth and sympathy. It's not just the careful writing and graceful directing that drives this film, but Williams. This is probably her second best performance after Blue Valentine, and it's still a wonder how much she can do with so little.

bandw Wendy is a young woman who takes out from Indiana in her old Honda Accord with the goal of going to Alaska where, she has been told, there are jobs in the canning industry. Wendy's traveling companion is her dog Lucy. In a small Oregon town Wendy's car breaks down, she is caught shoplifting, and she loses her dog. Without friends or family or a job what does this young girl do? That's the story, with few details left out.I usually like quiet movies, but this one proves that I have my limits. My irritation with the movie and with Wendy began from an early scene that is a long take simply of Wendy walking along with Lucy while humming a nondescript tune. That scene went on so long that I thought it would resolve into something of import, but in fact it merely presaged many such scenes. Perhaps these scenes are there to show how rootless and adrift Wendy was, but I got enough in the first scene. So, a good part of the movie has Wendy walking around while another significant chunk is spent on Wendy's wandering all over the town and countryside yelling "Lucy," after her lost dog. The damn dog was clearly taken, leash and all, from the bike rack. Wendy's interminable and fruitless calling out grated on me to the point that I almost bailed.I got so frustrated with Wendy's bad decisions that I wanted to scream at her. Her first bad decision was to undertake the trip in the first place. If she was desperate enough for work and ambitious enough to undertake the trip, surely she could have vectored her desire for work and her energy in a more constructive way. OK, young people do impulsive, stupid things, but rarely do they persist in the face of the stark reality that Wendy was up against. I was equally irritated by the people that Wendy dealt with. Why didn't one of them at least try to talk to her about her situation--it was clear that she was at sea. Wendy was neither a druggie nor mentally ill. If you came across such a non-threatening, attractive young woman in such straits, would you not at least want to see what you might do to help? Is the safety net in the US so weak that there was no social service that could be called upon? The friendly security guard has nothing but my scorn. He saw exactly what was happening and what did he do? In a guilt-appeasing magnanimous gesture he solemnly handed Wendy six dollars.The ending can be nothing but depressing. From Wendy's walk in the woods we see that it is autumn, and she is heading to Alaska with no suitable gear, not even a sleeping bag. Does she have the personality or wits to survive? I think not. Within a few days or weeks she will be homelessness or dead--take your pick.I like Michelle Williams and she does give this loser a good try; her performance is a positive.

morrison-dylan-fan After having massively enjoyed watching the first season of Dawsons Creek in my teens, (which holds the unique honour of being the only TV season boxset,that I watched from the beginning to the end in one sitting!)I made sure to keep checking every so often to see what projects the actors were now making.When I finished watching James Van Der Beeks very good performance in the excellent jet-black comedy The Rules of Attrection,and I started to hear that Katie Holme had been cast in the new Batman film,my first through was that these two would be the main break out stars of the series.However,just as Batman Begins was about to come out,I noticed that people were starting to talk about a film that Michelle Williams was co-starring in,which seemed to be a small, low-budget film called Brokeback Mountain...The plot:Whilst Wendy (who only has her dog Lucy for a companion) is on her way for an important job interview,her car suddenly breaks down in the middle of nowhere.Realising that the town is completely dead at night,Wendy decides to sleep in the car and wait until morning.Almost as soon as the sun has risen,a security guard knocks on the car doors to tell,Wendy that she needs to move the car,due to it blocking a road.With the guard and Wendy having moved the car,Wendy decides to ask the guard if there is a near by supermarket,so that she can get some dog food for Lucy.Tieing up Lucy next to the supermarket,Wendy goes to get some tins of food for Lucy.As she gets nearer the till,Wendy begins to realise that she has to not waste a single penny that she has got on her.Which leads Wendy to deciding that she has to shoplift the food.Unluckally for her,she is easily spotted and taken to the police, to spend the whole night in jail.Having been released from the cell,Wendy goes rushing back to the supermarket,and discovers to her horror that Lucy is no longer there.With the kind help of the security guard,Wendy is able to get in contact with a local animal shelter (who tell her that they will keep an eye out for Lucy) and a near by car repair shop.But now,with her money more limited then ever,Wendy begins to wonder if there is anyway possible that she can afford for the car to get repaired,and pay for the food and blankets that she and Lucy will desperately need..View on the film:The first thing that caught my attention about the film was the astonishing performance from Michelle Williams as Wendy,who has taken the character in the complete opposite direction of her "high maintenance" character in Dawsons Creek.Williams makes the character someone that is very easy to relate to,even for people who have only ever had to face half the problems, that she faces in the film.This is helped by Williams brilliantly changing her physical appearance,which really helps to show how much Wendy is trying to keep her life moving,even when it seems that the world is determined to keep her on the outskirts of society.Along with Williams,Lucy the dog also gives a very good performance,with the way she interacts with Wendy being very natural,and helping to give a strong sense of companionship for Wendy.Although the screenplay does have a bit of an out-of-place, small sub-plot with a tramp which feels out of place,the main centre of the screenplay by writer/director Kelly Reichardt and Jon Raymond (who also wrote the short story Train Choir:which is the story that the film is based on)put the film into a painfully real reality,with Reichardt gritty,very grainy look helping to complement the fantastic screenplay in making a film that has only a hand full of characters,look like a place that you could easily find yourself in. Final view on the film:An amazing,grainy film,with a stunning performance by Williams and brilliant directing from Reichardt.