FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Wendy And Lucy [DVD] [2008]

Wendy And Lucy [DVD] [2008]
enlarge	Director: Kelly Reichardt Actor: Michelle Williams Studio: Soda Pop Category: DVD List Price: ~~£15.99~~ Buy New: £5.42 as of 21/11/2009 22:57 GMT details You Save: £10.57 (66%) New (8) from £5.42 Seller: selectcheaper Rating: 7 reviews Sales Rank: 13223 Format: PAL Languages: English (Unknown), English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 80 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5037899013045 ASIN: B001TLWR9G Theatrical Release Date: 2008 Release Date: June 29, 2009 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 7 1 2 Next » '...fundamental soak in humanness that movies were made to be...' May 26, 2009 Mr. Samuel J. Thompson 13 out of 13 found this review helpful About two months ago I read a beautifully delicate review of this film in Sight and Sound magazine (which the title quote is taken from) and was consequently extremely intrigued to see if the film itself could possibly equal this genius piece of journalism. I was lucky enough to see Wendy and Lucy at my local independent cinema yesterday after it had been brought back by popular demand. I found it to be one of the most powerfully moving cinematic experiences I've ever had. br / br /'...it'd be gauche to discuss the films...ending...' explains Mr. Atkinson of Sight and Sound. I fully appreciate this observation. The ending is at once excruciatingly empty and yet poignantly sad that it would feel awkward describing its details. In some ways I would argue that it's inappropriate to discuss Wendy and Lucy in any sort of academic context or try to analyse it intellectually for truly this is a film which feeds the heart and soul, not one for the mind. The greatness of Williams' subtle yet enigmatic performance is that it transcends criticism or star-ratings as the character manages to demonstrate some of the innate truths and beauties of life and humanity whilst keeping sorrow as prevalent and present a theme as it should be in a story which so clearly concerns itself with the pain of loss. br / br /The viewer cannot help but empathise with Wendy. That is why I'm shocked to read the above reviewer 'not caring for Wendy'. If you've seen the film then you'll know that this suggests more that there is something wrong with the reviewer than Reichartd's masterfully objective direction or the honest fragility of Williams' performance. I was further baffled to learn that the aforementioned reviewer felt we were watching 'someone banging their head against a wall for 80 minutes'. This is maybe why the film failed to affect the above reviewer; he failed to understand the `simplest of plots'. Wendy does have a purpose, she does have a goal and almost all of the actions we see her perform are born out of a sense of pragmatism not whim. When they cited The Wrestler as a more mature film in dealing with poverty and unemployment in America than Wendy and Lucy I was astonished. They mentioned something about 'seeking employment'. Wendy does seek employment. She is on her way to Alaska to find work when her car breaks down and her life starts falling apart. When reading the above reviewers lauding of Old Joy for its `exploration into middle-class America', realise that this is 99% of Hollywood productions. Almost all American films concern the attractive, sleek and attention-seeking middle class. One of the joys of Reichardt's new film is that it dares to look further than economically satiated American bourgeoisie, to explore a character that has, for far too long, been ignored. br / br /Politically, at least Wendy and Lucy contains a clear message (if perhaps too subtle for the above reviewer) concerning the nature of working life in America. Themes that are not wholly dissimilar to those observed in The Wrestler (alienation, the loneliness of unemployment, crime and Bush-era poverty) are more directly addressed in Wendy and Lucy. In part I see it as a comment on the American dream. Although America purports to be a place full of freedom and opportunity the reality is quite the opposite. The system is set up to distinctly benefit a select few whilst exploiting or neglecting (including Wendy) the majority. As it is quite bluntly put by the policeman in the film: 'You have to have house to get a house. You have to have a job to get a job. It's all fixed.' This is the vicious circle of homelessness and unemployment that Wendy has found herself in. For me, this is a clearer social outcry than those contained in Old Joy or The Wrestler. br / br /I would implore everyone to see this film and then to cherish the experience close to their hearts. In times of trial or joy, remember Wendy: an empowering symbol of mans great capacity to love and weep. br / Modern Classic March 20, 2009 Mr. S. A. Keenan (Newcastle, UK) 12 out of 12 found this review helpful Michelle Williams is astonishing as the drifting loner Wendy in this truly engaging film about confusion, loss and hope and much more. Ignore the above review, it's ridiculous. br /The film is not a second longer than it needs to be to tell the tale of Wendy and her dog Lucy and the characters she meets along the way. br /Featuring excellent cameos from Will Oldham and Will Patton the story hooks you from beginning to end. br /Cinematography is beautiful and Kelly Reichardt stakes claim for one of, if not, the most important director working in america today. br /See it and decide for yourself but it's 5 stars from me and i'd have given more if i could. It only hits you later... August 5, 2009 Clifford 1 out of 1 found this review helpful When I first saw this understated indie movie about a rootless, poverty-stricken young woman whose car (and luck) break down in a backwater Oregon town, I felt a little short-changed. The film's poignant sadness only hit me after I'd left the cinema. This is a moving story about loneliness, desperation and loss. br / br /It's initially hard to empathise with the central character, Wendy, played in a powerful but low-key way by Michelle Williams. We learn almost nothing about her back story. She's driving a battered old Honda from Indiana to Alaska in search of a job in a fish cannery; her only companion is her dog, Lucy; she has very little money; her family and most of the strangers she encounters are indifferent to her plight. br / br /There's a political and moral message behind the movie: that we as individuals, and society as a whole, should care about people on the margins. Perhaps a secondary message is that even when a few people do care, it's not enough. But the politics aren't laid on thickly, except when callous, officious young store clerk Andy is shown to be wearing a cross: a pretty obvious swipe at the Republican right. br / br /The film's impact is a undermined by the lack of engagement we have with Wendy, and the lack of explanation of her history. We know she's desperate, but why? What's made her travel halfway across America on only $500? Did she have any other choices? Most fundamentally, who is she? I couldn't work out whether Wendy is a runaway, a drifter, or just an 'everywoman' who makes a desperate gamble in tough times. br / br /Perhaps it doesn't matter - the point is that in individualistic America, if you don't have money or connections, you're only a inch from the economic abyss. For Wendy and others at the edge of American life, small misfortunes can spell complete disaster. A film with a message to make you think and reflect. August 29, 2009 S. Ahmad (Surrey, UK) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful Initially,after having watched this film, you think - 'slow, boring, empty, and you don't get much for your money' br / But then these attributes perfectly reflect a 'day in the life of' someone who has lost everything that makes life worth living - money, job, respect, friends, love - which we so easily take for granted. br / It depicts the time-dragging monotony, the emptiness, the relying on small kindnesses, the loss of individuality and the quiet despair of making ends meet and keeping up appearances on a dwindling supply of money. br / Like the people sitting in a shop doorway with all their possessions in a bag and only a dog for companionship and love, we pass by without a second thought. br / But this film quietly reminds us that 'there but for the grace of God go I' and that there are always those in society who silently plead for our compassion and humanity. br / And after reflection, you realise that the film isn't really a story in the traditional sense but a direct appeal to our heart to have pity and perhaps shed a tear for those who have no-one to turn to and are completely alone in the world. Amazing Grace July 10, 2009 technoguy (Rugby) 2 out of 3 found this review helpful She is a drifter with a dog in a car from Indiana heading for Alaskan work br /whose car breaks down in Wilsonville, Oregon. She gets done for shoplifting br /and loses her dog. She sleeps rough when not in her car. She carefully budgets what money she has left, about $500. She has two main contacts here, the mechanic br /(Will Patton) and the elderly guard who watches the car park at the store back.. br /The story is sensitively rendered and Wendy is an undemonstrative, goodly br /soul who's family are portrayed as indifferent to her plight when she calls them. br /Her relationship with her dog Lucy is the closest she has. We see them in various scenes in the woods or in town together. This performance by Michelle Williams br /shows the fragility of character, is subtle and understated. She finds the limits br /of the world she lives in between the poles of the uppity store clerk who thinks br /she should be made an example of(he wears a cross) and the kindly old guard br /who loans her his mobile to call the dog pound (Dalton). This is a story br /about the marginalised, unemployed without home or job whose identity br /is almost non-existent and is dependent upon the kindness of strangers. There br /are scenes of moving stock and train carriages,winding railway lines and shots br /of graffiti on the sides of buildings with finely restrained cinematography. Her br /car is too expensive to fix and she finds her dog has been adopted by a good br /person with a yard. She realizes she has to make sacrifices. This film has the barest br /of outlines of a plot and the majority of it occurs stranded in a small north western br /Pacific town where there are no jobs. Williams underplays to bring out the br /realism of the world she inhabits. Although I found it strange for a young girl br /travelling in a car without a mobile phone I believed in her character. Reichardt br /has taken a leaf out of Rosetta and Not One Less, world films of grim realism br /that work on a thin trail of hope and exploration. Thank God Hollywood didn't br /get hold of this:pumped-up scenario,sex and sentimentality. A good film br /not made from a European original. br / br / Showing reviews 1-5 of 7 1 2 Next »

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