I’ve heard it said that Wendy and Lucy is a film which, although filmed over a year ago, brings to light the struggles of those caught in the current economic downturn.  While I suppose in some ways that could be true, I don’t think the move is one of such heightened measure and importance.  Rather, it is a slow and quiet character study of a woman who is struggling to build a life with no outside assistance, but who also isn’t experienced enough to have a Plan B.

Michelle Williams stars as Wendy, who is traveling by car from Indiana to Alaska because she “hears they need people there.”  Along for the ride is her best friend and companion Lucy, a 40-pound golden-colored floppy-eared sweetie.  Sleeping in her car in a Walgreen’s parking lot while passing through a small Oregon town, she awakens to find her car will no longer run.  Soon she loses Lucy, and she spends the rest of the film trying to find her.

Williams does a decent job of playing a woman who is struggling to show no weakness, and to not rely on anybody.  Clearly her character is somewhat distrustful and unsure how to handle it when somebody is kind to her.  But Wendy is hardly a downtrodden character meant to be a hero to working-class folks, and the other travelers she meets along the way seem to signify the victimization often expressed by people in her circumstances.  One fellow gives her advice on where to look for work in Alaska, then follows it up with the story of how he destroyed $100,000 worth of equipment there without a thought of consequence.  Another creepy man finds Wendy sleeping in the woods at night, rifles through her belongings, and explains that he is tired of people treating him like trash.  Wendy seems to see no problem with shoplifting food for herself and her dog when she has over $500 cash on hand.  She seems to be a product of the slacker generation.  And maybe that is the significance of her character: she wants to work, to save money, to build a life, but the circumstances of her situation are pulling her down into the underbelly of society.  But through her experiences in this small town, and watching how some struggling people are still willing to help each other (even if it is just the use of a cell phone or a few dollars), brings Wendy face to face with life lessons she had not expected.

If there is a message in Wendy and Lucy, ignoring the idealized moral some reviewers have inserted about how society has failed so many, it is that if you want to be a responsible adult, you need to act like one.  Nothing is more adult than putting the needs of someone you love, and someone who depends on you, ahead of your own.

Overall I think the film lacks some of the appeal of other quiet character studies; The Station Agent comes to mind as a superior film of the style I mean.  Michelle Williams does her best to carry the picture, but there isn’t enough emotion and consistent mood within the film to make it fully worthwhile.