Wendy and Lucy - C

Had I recognized that the previous feature of Kelly Reichardt (Wendy and Lucy’s director) was Old Joy sooner, I would not have bothered, despite the deserved praise Michelle Williams has received as a woman travelling from Indiana to Alaska by car with her dog. During the middle of the 80 minute film, I noticed the similarities: the American Northwest, ultra low budget, tedious, thinly plotted, and terribly grainy images with no sense of camera placement. But at least this one as some pretty good acting by Williams, Will Patton, and Wally Dalton (as the benevolent security guard) . . .

Try as she might, the impressive Williams can’t overcome the simple plot where she gets arrested for shoplifting at a grocery store and spends the rest of the movie looking for her dog who was taken from the storefront where Williams had tied her up. I don’t mind zero budget movies, but I do mind ones without ambition that fail to stimulate the mind, heart or gut. C