2011 Cannes Marathon: Wendy and Lucy

(Winner of the Palm Dog at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival)

Directed by Kelly Reichardt and written by Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond based on Raymond‘s short story Train Choir, Wendy and Lucy tells the story of a young woman going on a journey to Alaska with her dog in order to find work and a new life. Along the way, she faces challenges along with the possibility of losing her dog as the film plays to Reichardt’s minimalist filmmaking style. Starring Michelle Williams, Will Patton, John Robinson, Walter Dalton, and Will Oldham. Wendy and Lucy is a heartbreaking yet mesmerizing film from Kelly Reichardt.

Wendy Carroll (Michelle Williams) is driving from Indiana to Alaska to find work that is available. With her dog Lucy, Wendy makes a stop in Oregon as she talks to a group of people including a man named Icky (Will Oldham) who tells her about the work in Alaska. The next day, Wendy’s car wouldn’t start as a security guard (Walter Dalton) helps her out where Wendy goes to a local market to get some things for herself and Lucy. Going outside to check on Lucy, who is tied by a bike post, she’s stopped by a clerk (John Robinson) who accuses her of stealing as she’s sent to jail.

Following her release, Wendy goes on the search for a dog while the local mechanic (Will Patton) takes her car to figure out what is wrong. With the help of the security guard, Wendy tries to find Lucy as she asks the local pound for her whereabouts as she offers the security guard’s number for contact. Wendy walks around town to try and find her dog where she would encounter difficulties and heartbreak.

A film about a young woman losing her dog and trying to find the dog might not seem like a compelling type of film in terms of what is expected with conventional, mainstream cinema. An idea like that would be perfect for the Italian neo-realism of the late 1940s but that is an entirely different period and cinematic style that can’t be replicated. Fortunately, Kelly Reichardt and co-screenwriter Jonathan Raymond do take that neo-realist approach but also mesh it with minimalist cinema.

The screenplay is very loose as it’s mostly about this woman wanting to go Alaska with her dog for a new life but a mistake gets her in trouble. Even worse is that she loses the dog and goes on a quest to find her. Though there would be a couple of people that would help her out, Wendy has to face the harsh economy that is surrounding her as well as the little money that she has. She’s unable to afford a hotel room as money is mostly spent on food while she hopes to save for repairs or for the dog. What happens is that the money she has wouldn’t be enough as it would lead to an ending that is expected in neo-realist cinema. Yet, Reichardt and Raymond create something where the ending is a bit ambiguous but also a bit hopeful depending on what the audience might expect.

Reichardt’s direction is truly engrossing for the way she portrays this young woman’s struggle in a town in Oregon. Due to the film’s minimalist approach, there’s a lot of scenes where there’s not a lot of dialogue as the camera always follow Wendy in her struggle to find Lucy. Reichardt goes for a lot of wide shots to bring an example of the world Wendy is in as well as close-ups to capture her state of mind. Whether it’s a few tracking shots or hand-held camera shots, Reichardt is always making the audience be engaged by this young woman’s plight. Particularly for the fact that it’s an 80-minute film with a leisured pace and very straightforward editing that is courtesy of Reichardt herself as she creates a phenomenal yet engrossing film.

Cinematographer Sam Levy, along with Greg Schmitt, does an excellent job with the photography that has a realness to the look without any stylish camera work in order to have a gritty look. Production designer Ryan Smith does a good job with the art direction with the few sets created like the mechanic shop and the objects in Wendy‘s car. Costume designer Amanda Needham does a nice job with the costumes from the realistic look the characters wear including the blue jacket and brown shorts that Wendy wears. Sound designers Leslie Shatz and Eric Offin do a great job with the sound work to capture the locations of the town and places that Wendy encounters including her humming that is heard throughout the film.

The casting by Laura Rosenthal and Ali Farrell is superb with an array of memorable appearances from Will Oldham as a guy talking to Wendy about Alaska, Larry Fessenden as a crazy man in a park, John Breen as a grocery store owner, and Deidre O’Connell and M. Blash as voice roles of Wendy’s sister and brother-in-law, respectively. Other notable small roles include John Robinson as the nosy grocery store clerk who gets Wendy in trouble and Will Patton as a sympathetic though realistic mechanic who helps Wendy out about her car. Walter Dalton is excellent as an old security guard who helps Wendy out with a phone and advice about trying to find Lucy as he knows about the trouble she is going through.

Finally, there’s Michelle Williams in what is definitely one of her finest performances of her career. Williams brings a raw yet unglamorous performance as this young woman who is on her way to Alaska for a new life with her dog. Because of a mistake, she gets into trouble and loses her dog as Williams shows the struggle of a woman trying to get her dog and wanting to get to her destination. There is nothing showy or vain in Williams’ performance as she really brings that real yet fearful quality of a woman dealing with all sorts of circumstances. Helping Williams give that kind of determination in her performance is the dog Lucy. Lucy is a remarkable dog who allows Williams to show a sense of warmth as the film belongs to both Williams and Lucy.

Wendy and Lucy is a brilliant yet evocative film from Kelly Reichardt featuring a superb performance from Michelle Williams and a dog named Lucy as the title characters. Audiences wanting a realistic yet simple tale of a woman’s struggle that is relevant with the economic crisis of the past few years will be amazed by it. Fans of Michelle Williams will no doubt see this as one of her finest performances to date. In the end, Wendy and Lucy is a powerful neo-realist drama from Kelly Reichardt and company.

Kelly Reichardt Films: River of Grass - Old Joy - Meek's Cutoff - Night Moves (2013 film) - Certain Women - First Cow - Showing Up - The Auteurs #72: Kelly Reichardt

© thevoid99 2011

Old Joy

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 12/11/08 w/ Additional Edits.

One of American independent cinema's emerging female writer-directors, Kelly Reichardt is known for creating films set in the rural American landscape as she explored alienation in the U.S. 1994's River of Grass was a Sundance hit as well as nabbing three Independent Spirit Award nominations. 1999's short film Ode based on Herman Raucher's novel Ode to Billie Joe offered similar acclaim. After making two short films in 2001 and 2004, Reichardt returned with her third feature that would give her bigger acclaim and attention about two old friends reuniting on a weekend for a camping trip. The film is named after Jonathan Raymond's short story that Reichardt based on entitled Old Joy.

Directed and edited by Kelly Reichardt with a script written by Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond, Old Joy tells the story of two old friends reuniting for a weekend as they go camping in the mountains around Oregon. During this period, the two men deal with the changes they're facing once the weekend is over as one deals with imminent fatherhood while the other is trying to have one last adventure. An exploration of loss and alienation in the George W. Bush era, Reichardt's film is an eerie tale that is intimate in its storytelling. Starring musician Will Oldham and Daniel London. Old Joy is a poignant, intimate, and somber film from Kelly Reichardt.

Mark (Daniel London) is at home with his pregnant wife (Tanya Smith) as he gets a call from his old friend Kurt (Will Oldham). Kurt suggests that he and Mark should go camping for the weekend as Mark decides to go since he and Kurt hadn't seen each other in a long time. Taking his dog Lucy, Mark meets up with Kurt as the two drive to the Cascade Mountain range where they talk about old places they used to hang out and old friends they don't see very much. After getting some weed for the trip, the two continue to drive as they reach the Cascade Mountains. After trying to find the road to the Bagby Hot Springs near the river, they stop at a campsite where Kurt talks about his own adventures and ambitions. Mark reveals his own anxieties over his upcoming role in being a father. After finding the Bagby Hot Springs as the two and Lucy walk through the woods, Kurt tells a story as both he and Mark agree that the trip was a good escape to their own usual surroundings while pondering what's going to happen next.

The film is essentially about two old friends going on a camping trip for the weekend and trying to reconnect with one another as they face changing times and such where the trip is really an escape for them. That's practically it since director and co-screenwriter Kelly Reichardt decided to go more for minimalist storytelling instead of going for a traditional plot. Yet, the script that features not a lot of dialogue or plot-points but rather something that follows two guys going on a trip for escape. The film is driven more by improvisation to give it a more natural, realistic approach.

Reichardt's direction is definitely intimate in both its 73-minute running time and story. With numerous images of the Cascade Mountain range along with the forest, trees, and other nature images, the film is meant to reveal the natural world that the main characters are escaping to in comparison to the world and cities that are noisy and dirty. Reichardt isn't trying to make a political statement though the voices of people on Air America Radio is heard frequently to reveal the sense of alienation that is going on at the time during the country. Yet, sense of escape from the political and social climate of their surroundings bring a unique story of these two men trying to reconnect. While Reichardt also suggests some homoeroticism in Kurt's part towards Mark, it's only to reveal the intensity of this friendship as neither man hadn't seen each other in some time.

Reichardt's direction and her editing definitely works to create something that is intimate with lots of improvisation and rambling dialogue as she lets the audience see these two guys hang out and walk through the woods. On the editing, Reichardt uses jump-cuts and other transition styles to get the story flowing. What is more striking in both her editing and direction is knowing when not to cut. There's long takes in order for Reichardt to explore the conversation between Mark and Kurt as it maintains this sense of improvisational, naturalistic feel for the film. While audiences might feel that Reichardt's approach is pretentious, it's clear that Kelly Reichardt is an unlikely voice for American independent cinema by doing things unconventionally in order to tell a story.

Cinematographer Peter Sillen does brilliant work with the film's camera in creating a colorful yet natural look to many of the film's exterior forest scenes with wonderful looks of leaves and rivers. Sillen's photography is exquisite with those scenes without a lot of artificial lighting styles or flashy as he goes for realism and beauty. Sound designer Daniel Perlin along with editor Eric Offin and recordist Gabriel Fleming do great work in the film's sound to capture the atmosphere of nature as well as the noisiness of the city and roads. The music by indie band Yo La Tengo is wonderfully melodic and atmospheric with just its arpeggio-laden guitar and somber tone. The cast is filled with mostly friends and such with Tanya Smith in a very good small role as Mark's pregnant wife. Yet, it's the performances of Will Oldham and Daniel London that really shines. Oldham as the more ragged, talkative Kurt with his rambling dialogue and London as the quieter yet more serious Mark. Oldham and London have great chemistry as they bring a natural style of acting for the film.

Old Joy is truly a remarkable gem from Kelly Reichardt featuring great performances from Will Oldham and Daniel London along with Yo La Tengo's rich score. Fans of minimalist, American independent cinema will no doubt enjoy this film for its wandering style and looseness. Audiences of more mainstream films might be befuddled by its lack of plot and improvisational approach though its themes will prove to be relevant at the time when American aren't feeling great about themselves. In the end, Old Joy is a rich, intimate film from Kelly Reichardt that proves that less ideas can bring more out of a really good film.

Kelly Reichardt Films: River of Grass - Wendy and Lucy - Meek's Cutoff - Night Moves (2013 film) - Certain Women - First Cow - Showing Up - The Auteurs #72: Kelly Reichardt

© thevoid99 2011