Stockholm Film Festival

The kindness of strangers is pretty much all our main character, portrayed by Michelle Williams, has to fall back on in this low-key drama. On her way to a summer of lucrative work, and the possibility of a new life, Wendy’s car breaks down in a small town in Oregon. With less than $600 in her pockets, this is not an ideal situation. The setbacks just keep mounting, as her dog Lucy disappears. She befriends a parking lot guard, who gives her some hope; but all things considered, Wendy’s world is falling apart. In the end, the minimalistic and intimate script creates a truly sympathetic heroine.

Director Kelly Reichardt chooses not to tell the audience how Wendy ended up in this predicament; a fact that doesn’t matter much anyway. Without ever getting tearjerkingly sentimental, Wendy and Lucy might be the saddest movie of the year. Look out for underground singer and cult icon Will Oldham, who also wrote the theme song, in the role of Icky.

Premiere Status

Nordic Premiere

Cast

Michelle Williams, Deneb Catalan, John Robinson

Producer

Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp

Script

Kelly Reichardt, Jonathan Raymond

Cinematography

Sam Levy

Music

Will Oldham

Spoken language

English

 

Other films from the American Independents section

See all the festival films from 2008