Touches You

Fantastic!

Excellent but underrated film

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Wendy and Lucy I watched some years ago and recently again. Fine performance by Michelle Williams - and Lucy (the dog). A fine little movie about a "loser" and outsider and her little world (lost in the middle of nowhere on the way to somewhere in a small town, car broke, only a little money left) and about a great decision and sacrifice to make. Heartwarming. Quiet. Good.

On her way to Alaska where she hopes to find a job, young Wendy stops off in a small town in Oregon. She is travelling with her dog, Lucy, the only being who truly cares for her, and the only one that she cares for. But money runs short after a series of incidents, and Lucy disappears. From such an unexciting, not to say banal, premise, Reichardt creates a neorealist film for 21st-century America. By simply observing the harsh reality of unemployment, homelessness and the absence of healthcare, she avoids all sentimentalism to leave only the raw emotions emanating from an encounter with unfairness in a very real world. Similarly, Wendy barely cries at all despite her hardships – she only accepts other people's help with great resignation. She is at odds with her environment, a small figure against a grand background. She is rarely photographed at the centre of the frame, except when she is with Lucy. Circumstances have no compassion, but this film is about how Wendy is strong enough to accept them.

I liked this movie for its minimalism and its characters. Its protagonist is a weak individual whose main source of emotional support is her dog. In the end she can't even protect the dog and leaves her with a better provider, thus leaving herself completely alone. This story is a kind of minor tragedy that emphasizes the downside of American individualism and what happens to a person when his or her support group collapses and they have nothing left. At the start of the picture Wendy's car breaks down and she meets the security guard that helps her push her car off of the parking lot. The guard represents the sole example of human kindness that Wendy experiences the movie. Wendy foolishly attempts to shop lift food for her dog and gets caught and sent to jail. She has to pay a large fine and her dog is gone when she is released. The rest of the movie is Wendy's search for her dog which she finds at the end. Her decision to leave her dog with the new owner is a personal tragedy for her because, as we see in the final scene, she is totally alone in a freight car facing a dangerous and uncertain future.I see this movie in political terms. Republicans that despise the poor and weak will hate this movie for the sympathy that it shows for Wendy. Most American movies emphasize strength or defiance in the face of injustice or adversity. The most that Wendy can do is cry in despair and cling to an improbable hope for the future. This is the core of the film's realism. Without a support group we are all like Wendy. The American myth of the rugged individual is a stupid lie.

Michelle Williams is an extremely talented actress who flies under the radar of most movie goers. While keeping a quiet public profile she does all of her talking on the big screen. Although she was nominated this year for Best Actress in her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe, Williams gravitates towards small independent films rather than Hollywood blockbusters. My next three reviews will feature Ms. Williams in a few of her best roles. First up is the 2008 film "Wendy and Lucy" directed by Kelly Reichardt.Made on shoestring budget in Oregon this film is an understated character study of a young woman and her dog as they head for better life. Their goal is Alaska and a lucrative job at a fish cannery. The film is minimalist, but high on emotional impact and feeling. Wendy and her companion, a yellow lab mix named Lucy, currently live in their old Honda Accord. After sleeping the night in a Walgreen's parking lot, a kind old security guard must have her move. The car doesn't start and so begins a turning point not only in her trip but her life. She tracks every cent she has in a journal and its getting pretty low. A bad decision at a supermarket and a heartless ass kissing stock boy gets Wendy in trouble with the law. Lucy is left tied to a bike rack outside the market while Wendy is booked for petty theft. A number of hours pass until Wendy is freed and fined $50. She races back to Lucy but she is gone. She finds little help with the indifferent locals and her dilemma only intensified. The one bright spot is the security guard played by Wally Dalton, offering his cell phone and a kind ear.She makes her way to the pound but Lucy isn't there, just a bunch of other lost or abandoned dogs. She has to pay to have her car towed to the repair shop which is only a block away. The mechanic delivers some bad news, the car is dead. Without her car, her sanctuary, she tries spending the night in the woods. It's not long until she is freaked out and nearly attacked by another vagrant. At the end of her rope she calls her estranged sister and gets a big load of nothing. I don't want to throw too many spoilers out there but after some painful choices life must move on.Wendy's struggle unfold like a sort of documentary rather than a film. There is no musical score and the filmmakers are committed to realism. Michelle Williams IS Wendy as she completely commits to this role. Many people agreed as she was nominated for a handful of awards. The movie itself won the AFI's Film of the Year Award. "Wendy and Lucy" is available on Netflix watch instantly.