Wendy & Lucy (7.5/10)

I had a rather interesting argument that lead me to watch this movie. Well interesting for me. I was speaking with my dad about movies as we occasionally do after we both saw "Hesher". We talked about how great it was Natalie Portman can do a role in a small indie movie and look normal rather than standing like a major hollywood star would. This lead to her acting and how we both thought some scenes of her's in "Black Swan" were sort of overacted. I said that Michelle Williams that year in "Blue Valentine" probably gave the best acting performance (Her or Benning) but Portman still should have won the Oscar. My dad said that both Portman and Williams are good but not great actors. I was appalled. Portman I can see the bashing every now and then (her recent movies are not flattering but in the end she's great) but Michelle Williams is fantastic. He said Williams will never be as good as Kate Winslet because Williams only plays certain typecast roles. Where she yells and has big emotional breakdowns. I said have you seen "Wendy & Lucy". I heard vey positive things about her here. he said no, so to prove my point of how great Williams is I needed to watch this. Sorry for this unnecessary paragraph but I'd rather put it in then leave it out entirely.

So does Michelle Williams give a great performance here? You bet your ass she does. Natural and simple. She gives so much warmth to a character that could have been quite boring. Williams makes her interesting. "Wendy & Lucy" is the story of a Wendy and her dog Lucy. She's about 23 or so trying to get to Alaska. In Oregon her car breaks down and her dog runs away. If this sounds like a boring plot well go enjoy whatever dumb crap you'll watch and go "look at all the gunfights, this is great!" This is a moving film that makes a great plot out of something so minimal. I should expected this from the director of "Meek's Cutoff". The film has a dreamy aspect to it that readily shifts to more urgent and nightmarish states. It's a better film then the rating I'm giving it but it's still not perfect in anyway. I enjoyed watching it but it is slow, feels long even with a short running time. Maybe I like some gunfights every now and then too. Anyway "Wendy & Lucy" is just another reason to me why Michelle Williams is just a real talent in today's movie scene.

7.5/10
Recommendation: If you like simple things and Michelle Williams. Most people don't want both which is a shame.