'Wendy and Lucy' review

Michelle Williams (Credit: Oscilloscope)

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On her way from Indiana to Alaska, Wendy (Michelle Williams) stalls in small-town Oregon, where her '88 Honda Accord won't start and her dog Lucy disappears. She looks for her companion while befriending a security guard (Wally Dalton), washing up in a gas station bathroom, sleeping in her car and in the woods, and trying to stretch her dwindling funds as far as they'll go.

The buzz: Co-writer/director Kelly Reichardt's last film, "Old Joy," was an expertly minimal exploration of a friendship's last gasps. "Wendy and Lucy" isn't as soft and slow but does quietly focus on the minute-by-minute passage of time and drifting away of opportunities.

The verdict: Breathtaking. With the sort of calm that only comes from the suppression of panic, "Wendy and Lucy" identifies the strength in weakness, and the weakness in strength. In each scene Williams, sounding beaten but not broken, represents hope and fear, possibility and desperation. Reichardt's observant camera captures moments so you absorb the pain in Wendy's feet and the crispness of the apple she wants to buy but can't. Her movies turn a little into a lot and feel, simply, like life in a nutshell.

Did you know? Wendy and the security guard wonder why you can't get a job if you don't have a job, and why you can't get an address if you don't have an address. Catch 22 wins again!

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