Rent Wendy and Lucy (2008)

A poignant story which leaves unanswered questions. - Wendy and Lucy review by CP Customer

Wendy is a young woman in the early 20’s travelling on a limited budget from her hometown in Indiana to find work in the fishing canneries of Alaska. Living out of her 80’s Honda Accord with her dog Lucy, they stop off to spend the night in a small town in Oregon. While sleeping in a parking lot she is woken early in the morning by a security guard who tells her to move her car, but when she tries to drive away finds that it will not start. Waiting for the local garage to open and out of food for Lucy, she visits a local grocery store and makes a serious mistake by stealing dog food, which in turn sets off a chain of events which force her into many difficult decisions and situations. Essentially a snapshot into three days in the life of Wendy the film presents her as quite a hard character to empathise with, she’s guarded almost to the point of being self-centred, and although on a limited budget has enough money to buy dog food but chooses to steal it, and when offered unconditional help rarely thanks anyone. Though as the film presents her as this distant character the clever thing about ‘Wendy and Lucy’ is that it prompts you to think about her past, what events led up her to her journey, what makes her so insular, and even though she is this sometimes unlikeable character, as a viewer you still want her to succeed. Added to this the end of the film is not the end of the story, there's no knowing how Wendy’s life continues from the point the film leaves her, which leaves unanswered questions and emotions which hang in your mind long after the film ends. If you enjoy this you should also check out Director Kelly Reichardt's previous film 'Old Joy', the Duplass Brothers 'The Puffy Chair', and if they ever get a DVD release Aaron Katz excellent 'Quiet City' and 'Dance Party USA'.