Going 2 for 2, with this film I think that Kelly Reichardt joins Claire Denis, Lucrecia Martel, and Chantal Akerman as the most important working female directors on the planet, though their work all holds up against any male director. With Old Joy and now Wendy and Lucy, Reichardt creates impossibly moving films out of some of the simplest, sparsest plots in cinema. These two films affect me in ways that I had always hoped and expected Robert Bresson’s oeuvre would, but didn’t. Especially Au Hasard Balthazar, which I think has many things in common with Reichardt’s latest, drawing deep and complex pathos toward a female’s relationship with an animal that she loves; there are tons of subtle parallels between Wendy and Lucy’s respective states. Based on the films plot there is nothing all that impressive about it, but, like in Old Joy, the acting and direction elevates the film so much that you feel like you’ve witnessed some sort of dense study on human suffering that cannot do anything but move you.
The film also captures small town mediocrity perfectly, reminding me of Alexander Payne, but more authentic and less plasticky. I’ve seen a lot of reviews that call this a really great indie film, and I think that putting this in the ‘indie’ genre is misleading and irresponsible. Yes, it has a low budget and seemingly modest aspirations, but this is no more an indie film than a Bela Tarr film is. When i think of seeing an indie film, I think of pseudo indie films like those made by Steven Soderberg or Wes Anderson. This film was simply made in the exact way that it should have been, regardless of the budget that Reichardt was given or the stars or no-names it could cast.
Michelles Williams is spectacular and I cannot believe that the girl from Dawson’s Creek pulled this role off so well. All of the supporting cast is great two, especially the punks around the camp fire and the sleazy, bastard car mechanic. I cannot wait for whatever Reichardt makes next.