Wendy and Lucy (2008)
A fine-tuned portrait of an American underclass drifter, Wendy and Lucy represents (for me) Reichardt’s best film to date.
Like her other films, it is defined by the director’s stylistic austerity, her intimate gauge of a single (0r few) character, and indelible sense of time and place, in this case Oregon.
It chronicles the heart-stopping search of an almost penniless young woman, Wendy, (Michelle Williams) for her beloved dog Lucy, turning it in the process into a poignant study of physical loneliness and social alienation.
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The struggle also epitomizes the contribution of two of the key collaborations of Reichardt’s uncompromisingly indie career: Actor Michelle Williams and Pacific Northwest writer Jon Raymond.
Credits:
Directed by Kelly Reichardt
Screenplay by Jon Raymond, Reichardt, based on “Train Choir} by Jon Raymond
Produced by Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani
Cinematography Sam Levy
Edited by Kelly Reichardt
Production companies: Field Guide Films, Film Science, Glass Eye Pix, Washington Square Films
Distributed by Oscilloscope Pictures
Release dates: May 22, 2008 (Cannes Film Fest); Dec 10, 2008 (US)
Running time: 80 minutes
Budget $300,000
Box office $1.4 million
