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Wendy and Lucy

Play trailer Poster for Wendy and Lucy R 2008 1h 20m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 183 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Wendy (Michelle Williams), a near-penniless drifter, is traveling to Alaska in search of work, and her only companion is her dog, Lucy. Already perilously close to losing everything, Wendy hits a bigger bump in the road when her old car breaks down and she is arrested for shoplifting dog food. When she posts bail and returns to retrieve Lucy, she finds that the dog is gone, prompting a frantic search for her pet.
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Wendy and Lucy

Wendy and Lucy

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Critics Consensus

Michelle Williams gives a heartbreaking performance in Wendy and Lucy, a timely portrait of loneliness and struggle.

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Critics Reviews

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Stanley Kauffmann The New Republic 03/27/2015
In happy sum, Reichardt is one more of the current American directors, most of them still young, who are endowing our film world with pleasure and hope. Go to Full Review
Ryan Gilbey New Statesman 03/27/2015
I expect there will be more stories like Wendy and Lucy's in the coming months and years. The wonder will be if they articulate their compassion and distress with such unforced eloquence. Go to Full Review
J. R. Jones Chicago Reader 03/27/2015
The climax is a heartbreaker, and in its haunting finale the movie recalls no less than Mervyn LeRoy's Depression-era classic I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang. Go to Full Review
Eve Tushnet Patheos 08/12/2022
Promises a harrowing depiction of poverty and its Catch-22s and its moral judgment and shames, and delivers on that, so hey, you can’t say you didn’t know what it would be like. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 02/21/2022
4/4
Delivers a modern-day version of Vittorio De Sica's Umberto D. (1952), Go to Full Review
Jason Best Movie Talk 11/21/2020
Watching Wendy lose her precarious grip on everything she holds dear is quietly heartbreaking - and a bracing reminder in these straitened times of how easy it is for someone like her to be tipped over the edge when there isn't a safety net around. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Scott R @ScottR Nov 26 NYT 1000 movies. A sad tale of loneliness, homelessness, and struggling against the challenges of life. A well made movie, but is it ground breaking? Saw on tubi. See more Sam N Mar 21 Kelly Reichardt, a master of quiet, deeply felt storytelling, once again proves her prowess in Kelly and Lucy. Her signature restraint captures visual beauty and narrative trauma, allowing emotion to simmer beneath the surface rather than spelling it out. As Reichardt's muse, Michelle Williams delivers a performance that is nothing short of magnificent, embodying so much with just a glance or pause. It is obvious why Reichardt casts Williams time and time again. Reichardt's trust in her audience is evident—there's no spoon-feeding, no over-explaining, just raw, lived-in moments that hit hard. The film lingers in your mind, not because it shouts, but because it whispers, leaving space for you to feel every unspoken ache and fleeting joy. See more JP K Dec 29 I saw this at The Landmark when I think Cuban still owned it. Williams was there and fielded questions post -screening, and I can't remember if Reichardt was there too. I remember thinking it was odd that, while plenty of folks had thoughts about Wendy's precarious situation, no one ever questioned the system - the PEOPLE - who created, and enforce - a system that produces desperate people. Yes, personal responsibility is important, but the world can't be neglected. If Wendy's taken to task for stealing dog food, why then haven't there been ANY prosecutions for bankers that crashed the entire world? See more AFAN O 08/21/2022 Melancholy to a T. The actress does a good job showing us how difficult it is to be homeless. See more 05/25/2022 My impression of this movie is that it moves sideways like a train on a railroad. I felt so sad about the shot of her opening the door after she finished checking each dog one by one to find his dog at the health center.Although the production was not flashy, the detailed portrayal of the film helped it stick in my mind. See more 01/23/2022 This is for me personally, without question, the most depressing movie that i have ever watched . it affected me for days afterward . i suppose that it's because i was homeless for a time in my youth . that being said, it's a wonderful film. See more Read all reviews
Wendy and Lucy

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Movie Info

Synopsis Wendy (Michelle Williams), a near-penniless drifter, is traveling to Alaska in search of work, and her only companion is her dog, Lucy. Already perilously close to losing everything, Wendy hits a bigger bump in the road when her old car breaks down and she is arrested for shoplifting dog food. When she posts bail and returns to retrieve Lucy, she finds that the dog is gone, prompting a frantic search for her pet.
Director
Kelly Reichardt
Producer
Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani, Larry Fessenden
Screenwriter
Jonathan Raymond, Jonathan Raymond, Kelly Reichardt
Distributor
Oscilloscope Pictures
Production Co
Glass Eye Pix, Filmscience
Rating
R (Language)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 10, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 8, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$856.9K
Runtime
1h 20m
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