Dear Wendy

"One shot is all it takes"

2005 1h 45m EN

😐

5.8

MID

🥫

35%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★5.8TMDB · 145🥫35%Rotten Tomatoes●33Metacritic★6.5IMDB · 10,676

ComedyCrimeDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a blue-collar American town, a group of teens bands together to form the Dandies, a gang of gunslingers led by Dick Dandelion. Following a code of strict pacifism at odds with the fact that they all carry guns, the group eventually lets in Sebastian, the grandson of Dick's childhood nanny, Clarabelle, who fears the other gangs in the area. Dick and company try to protect Clarabelle, but events transpire that push the gang past posturing.

“One shot is all it takes”

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Cast

Jamie Bell
Dick Dandelion
Bill Pullman
Krugsby
Michael Angarano
Freddie
Danso Gordon
Sebastian
Novella Nelson
Clarabelle
Chris Owen
Huey
Alison Pill
Susan
Mark Webber
Stevie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Writers: Lars von Trier
Languages: English
Countries: Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 21 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Germany.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg, shot by Anthony Dod Mantle. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Benjamin Wallfisch. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mikkel E.G. Nielsen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jamie Bell and Bill Pullman and Michael Angarano carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "One shot is all it takes".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0342272 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Thomas Vinterberg directs. Anthony Dod Mantle behind the camera. Benjamin Wallfisch scores. Mikkel E.G. Nielsen cuts. Produced in Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Germany. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 21 years ago.
2International production across 4 countries: Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Germany.
3Directed by Thomas Vinterberg, shot by Anthony Dod Mantle. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Benjamin Wallfisch. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Mikkel E.G. Nielsen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jamie Bell and Bill Pullman and Michael Angarano carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "One shot is all it takes".
8IMDB entry: tt0342272 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle
Original score: Benjamin Wallfisch
Editing: Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
Production design: Jette Lehmann
Costume design: Annie Périer
Makeup / hair: Pascale Bouquière
Runtime: 105 min · 1h 45m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Dear Wendy (2005)
Rotten Tomatoes: 35% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 33/100
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 10,676 votes
MPAA: Not Rated
US box office: $23,106

Awards

1 win & 5 nominations total

Silver George for Best Director

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Thomas Vinterberg

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-09-19
★ 6/10
“Dick” (Jamie Bell) finds a gun. “Dick” hates guns. “Dick” decides to name his gun and start a gang of “Dandies” in her honour. What’s the one rule of gun club? Nobody is ever allowed to fire their weapon. They can be looked at, they can be polished, they can even be traded - but under no circumstances nor despite any provocation can they ever be fired in anger. Meantime, the sheriff “Krugsby” (Bill Pullman) takes a tolerant view of these lads. He knows they are just boys being boys and that “Dick” is an harmless individual. Then something altogether unplanned happens, and well let’s just say that Thomas Vinterburg and Lars von Trier now take a leaf from the book of Robert Burns. “The best laid plans…”. Now what’s the message? There are some thinly veiled racial undertones and it is clearly having a poke at American gun culture, but to what end? Is it sending up the imbecility of those legally permitted to hold guns in this dead-end mining town? Is the very fact this town is nowhere near anywhere a symbol of an old nation that has moved on from it’s “Wild West” days? Is it just a satirical look at an inherently violent culture that doesn’t really come out so well as these scenarios are exaggerated and verbalised? Maybe none of them, maybe all of them - and the fact that it’s fronted by a Brit who sports a particularly weak accent can’t be ignored either. None of it really comes across as real, yet so much of it does - or might, if you’re minded to accept one of it’s many ambiguous premises. Bell is on solid, if unspectacular, form here as is Pullman but it’s really the supporting cast of his pacifist pals partnered with a sparing but quite purposeful script and some quirky photography that gives this whole film an almost sci-fi sense of the surreal. At no point was I convinced that any of this was ever meant to portray something real or true and as the denouement approached, all that was actually missing was Gary Cooper and Ennio Morricone. I didn’t love this, but bizarrely I don’t really know quite why. Maybe that’s why you ought to watch it?

Production companies