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Derek Malcolm's rating
Wendy and Lucy is a small gem
By
Derek Malcolm
5 Mar 2009
Nice little films don't do very well at the box office these days. But Kelly Reichardt's touching tale of a young girl and her lost dog at least deserves plaudits for making something of almost nothing.
The girl is Wendy (Michelle Williams, who appeared with Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain) and the dog is Lucy, a fetching mongrel who loves her dearly. She is travelling in an old, clapped-out Honda to Alaska in the hope of finding summer work.
It's a long journey and the car breaks down in a small, depressed town in Oregon. Not having enough money for unscheduled stops, she tries to steal some dog food from a local store. The police are called, Lucy goes missing and only a kindly security man (Walter Dalton) tries to help her to track the dog down.
The story is told with a merciful lack of sentimentality, while Williams's performance seems totally natural. Added to that, Reichardt paints the smalltown scene with an attention to detail that a lot of other films miss. One for doggie-lovers, perhaps. But also a small gem of its kind.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
