Wendy and Lucy (2008)--5/5

“Wendy and Lucy” uses the relationship of its title characters as a window into so much more. With a few hundred bucks left Wendy (Michelle Williams) is working her way up to Alaska. The fish factories there offer jobs and housing to drifters, so she hears. In unhurried, authentic scenes, everything she has is whittled away.

With this, her most well-known film, Kelly Reichardt is now a major talent. She has the eye and subject matter of late-model Gus Van Sant, without his occasional authorial intrusions. (People walking towards the camera, long shots just to be long, etc.) Reichardt—unblinking in her portrayal of all characters—saves the most sympathy for Wendy and for anyone else who shows some measure of kindness. Wendy’s yearning for Lucy, her genuine gratitude to the security guard, her reactions to bad news—everything she does has an enviable humanity and innocence.

She’s forever hindered by conflicts with the real world—a place she doesn’t quite fit in. It’s not just one bad decision—to shoplift dog food—that does her in. It’s the bullying store clerk who grabs her arm, the garage that charges to tow a car one block, the unhinged fellow drifters. Wendy carefully plans her journey down to the last dollar. She’s tragically too nearsighted to factor in any type of large or small derailment.

Seen in the margins are the alternatives. The Security Guard (Wally Dalton) carries a wistful sadness, compounded by the sight of his rough-looking companion, picking him up in a dented boat of a car. Likewise, the store clerk depends on a ride to and from work. They have support, but they’re not free to roam. Neither is Wendy, once the badness starts. She’s literally stuck in the same parking spot for days—an indignity, after weeks/months/her whole life? on the move. Wendy’s capacity for love extends only minimally to humans. Inevitably, Lucy becomes just such a hindrance.