Wendy and Lucy

A small-scale film set in the American Northwest. Wendy is driving to Alaska; she has heard there is work in a cannery there. Her dog Lucy is with her and what money she has left is written in a notebook. Her car breaks down in a town in Oregon. There is no money for the repair. She ties the dog up outside a supermarket, goes in, and is caught trying to take food. She is taken to the police station, and when she comes back Lucy is gone. What follows is the search for the dog. But what the film is really describing is the absence of a cushion: a small mishap turns into a chain collapse for someone with nothing in reserve. The narrative makes no speeches. The character's past is not told, her reasons are not explained, and the film shows only a few days. Michelle Williams plays Wendy, in a performance built almost entirely on silence. Kelly Reichardt directed. It runs under eighty minutes and was made with a very small crew. A strong example for anyone who likes American independent cinema and plain storytelling. For a viewer expecting incident, the film describes almost nothing and its ending brings no relief.