Wendy and Lucy

"On the long road, friendship is everything."

2008 1h 20m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

🍅

85%

FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.1

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 372🍅85%Rotten Tomatoes●80Metacritic★7.1IMDB · 20,201

Drama

Synopsis

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A near-penniless drifter's journey to Alaska in search of work is interrupted when she loses her dog while attempting to shoplift food for it.

“On the long road, friendship is everything.”

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Cast

Michelle Williams
Wendy Carroll
Wally Dalton
Security Guard
Larry Fessenden
Man in Park
Will Oldham
Icky
John Robinson
Andy
Will Patton
Mechanic
Lucy the Dog
Lucy
David Koppell
Kid by Fire

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kelly Reichardt
Writers: Jonathan Raymond, Kelly Reichardt, Jonathan Raymond
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

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

RUNTIME

Did you know

80 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 6.0× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 18 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kelly Reichardt, shot by Sam Levy. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kelly Reichardt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michelle Williams and Wally Dalton and Larry Fessenden carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kelly Reichardt directs. Sam Levy behind the camera. Will Oldham scores. Kelly Reichardt cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

180 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Made its money back 6.0× over at the box office.
4Released 18 years ago.
5Directed by Kelly Reichardt, shot by Sam Levy. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Will Oldham. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Kelly Reichardt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Michelle Williams and Wally Dalton and Larry Fessenden carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "On the long road, friendship is everything.".
10IMDB entry: tt1152850 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 12 themes, including "friendship", "homelessness", "oregon, usa", "survival".

The technical file

Cinematography: Sam Levy
Original score: Will Oldham
Editing: Kelly Reichardt
Production design: Ryan Warren Smith
Costume design: Amanda Needham
Sound: Eric Offin
Runtime: 80 min · 1h 20m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $200,000
Box office: $1,192,655
Return: 596% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: Wendy and Lucy (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 80/100
IMDB rating: 7.1/10 · 20,201 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

9 wins & 16 nominations total

Also by

Kelly Reichardt

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Kenneth Axel Carlsson2014-12-27
★ 9/10
A woman, Wendy (Michelle Williams), is trekking through America, well, she does have a car, although not of much use to her (it breaks down early on in the movie). She also has a dog, Lucy, whom she loses early in the movie. We have no idea where this woman came from exactly, but we know where she is going, and why. Alaska... to get work. Of course, this might not be the entire truth, just what she tells people. She is not poor, but she has clearly not been wasting her money so far and she is not about to do that now, although, circumstances might take that decision right out of her hands. This woman has experienced something, and carry the scars. She does not trust people well, but learns to trust some people throughout the movie. But luckily, the movie does not provide all the answers... we have to figure them out for ourselves. These are the movies that I like the best. Michelle Williams is amazing in this role, heartbreaking really. She makes good decisions, but also some terribly wrong ones that might change her journey significantly. I found myself being angry at her early on for making a really stupid and unnecessary decision, but how wonderful to finally see a character who isn't perfect. Flaws is what define a human. The movie itself is slow paced, taking its time to follow Wendy around. It never rushes the story for a second, and when it is over, you can't help but think that it could have easily been 2-3 hours longer, as you want to see what happens to Wendy and Lucy. The images are very realistic, following Wendy close. They are not perfect, but neither is life, and this movie wants to show us just that... life. This is clearly an indie movie, and one of the best I've seen in a good while. I've seen another movie by the director, Kelly Reichardt, and it was filmed in the same way. Last words... Wendy and Lucy is a story about being human, about surviving in the world, about searching for something, a purpose maybe. It is also about friendship and trust, about the choices that we make, the choices that come to define us and our lives. Yes, it might seem like a small movie, but in reality, it is the biggest story of all, the story of our lives.
Reno2015-05-26
★ 8/10
Michelle Williams is one of the photogenic face in Hollywood and also like her performance. But won the negative impression of mine over portrayal of her character in 'Take This Waltz'. Doing a villainous role may get appreciation, for example, the Joker from Batman, but doing things that affect morality is really hurt if you really like that person. After that movie, I was not into her films and she also did not do any major roles. Accidentally I came to know about this movie, which is in fact a bit older movie than what I was talking about and after knowing more about it, I got interested and I could not resist from watching. Frankly, this movie filled the gap created by the earlier crack. This movie falls in the line of 'Open Road' and 'Into the Wild' when it comes to rendering the main character. If you have already seen those two, or any other similar flicks, then you would find this movie was very much intense. Wendy, a woman in her late 20s with her dog Lucy are on an expedition to the other end of the country seeking a solution to the difficulty for having a normal life and job. One must have to keep walking on either of way to see a light at the end of the tunnel and that's what Wendy does here. "You can't get an address without an address. You can't get a job without a job." This movie commence middle of her destination, where she's stranded after her car broke-down. It won't say anything about the earlier account of Wendy or what might happen after the timeline of this film. All the 80 minute of narration takes place in the Oregon city which is just a glimpse of her life for us as a movie, but a major impact thenceforth in her life. The struggle during fixing her car is what depicted simply, but beautifully on the screen. The story is about the man and his pet's relationship, that's what the meaning of the title, like 'Marley & Me'. Also being a young woman, society is no safe for roaming freely all the places alone at all the time. Plain drama, it was, but something meaningful story, a lesson to learn, a character to study and a life to experience. A kind of journey of self- discovery during understanding how the civil system works. Thematically there's nothing wrong, but 'setting an example' wise, this movie is not safer for other than the adults. Among the best movies of the year it was released. Impossible not to recommend others, especially by me to you perhaps. 8/10