By Faris Tanyos for KDRV
 
June 27, 2009
 
Grade: A-
 
On the back cover of the "Wendy and Lucy" DVD, right next to its ‘R' rating, is the following quote from New York Times Film Critic A.O. Scott:
 
"The rating seems to reflect, above all, an impulse to protect children from learning that people are lonely and that life can be hard."
 
Very little happens in Wendy and Lucy's 75-minute running time. There is almost no plot. We learn virtually nothing about Wendy's past, what brought her to this unnamed Oregon town, why she is in such dire financial straits, and why, except for her dog Lucy, she is so alone. She makes no friends, has no enlightening moments or conversations. Wendy very simply acts and reacts to the events that unfold for her, and she does it alone. Yet, somehow, I found myself relating to her on a very raw level, and caring about her, and everything that goes wrong for her became heartbreaking and painful. When it all ended I felt incredibly guilty. Why? I don't know.
 
Director Kelly Reichardt's film has made me think more about the shambling economy and the deterioration of basic human kindness then anything I've seen since the recession unfolded. Reichardt doesn't manipulate us with emotional devices. She strips away unnecessary distractions, forcing us to think about how we, and by ‘we' I mean ‘I', treat others. It is convicting.
 
Wendy (Michelle Williams) looks to be in her mid-to-late 20s. She's headed to Alaska to start a new life, we think from Indiana, but we're not entirely sure. She has less than $600 to her name.
 
One morning, in a small Oregon town, she wakes up in her car to find it won't start. The local mechanic is closed. She goes to a grocery store to shoplift some food for Lucy, gets caught, and by the time she's let out of jail, returns to find Lucy gone. Her situation doesn't get much better here on out.
 
The independent film was shot in Portland on a shoestring budget and photographed in a minimalist style. The screenplay was adapted from a short story by Portland writer Jonathon Raymond. Michelle Williams' portrayal of Wendy is both relatable and believable. She plays Wendy as a woman who seems to be holding some very sad secrets in her heart, crying out to share them with someone. But no one is around to listen. In one scene she calls her brother-in-law in Indiana "just to talk". He assumes she wants money. Wendy isn't crazy, and she doesn't come across as irresponsible. Does she deserve to be in this awful predicament? That's not the issue to Reichardt. Life isn't fair... a concept America sometimes refuses to accept, so what happens now?
 
Williams has parlayed her role as Jen Lindley on the series "Dawson's Creek" into some terrific performances in films like "Me Without You", "Synecdoche, New York", and her Oscar nominated role in "Brokeback Mountain". She is always appropriately understated, and has become one of my favorite actresses. Reichardt, a professor at Bard College has made "Rivers of Grass", "Ode", and, most recently "Old Joy", all of which I have not seen but now want to.
 
In an interview with NPR Reichardt said that in coming up with the story, she and Raymond discussed whether it's "really possible to pull yourself up from your bootstraps in America if you don't have the benefit of health insurance, an education, a financial net, a family net. Is all you need is the gumption, and an idea, to get out and do something differently, to better your circumstances. Is that really enough?"
 
My car broke down once in a town where I knew no one. The mechanic informed me I needed a new water pump. "Cash or credit," he asked. It's one of the scariest questions I've ever been asked.
 
ftanyos@kdrv.com