Sunday night I met a friend at the Hollywood Theatre to see the movie Wendy and Lucy. I was interested in it because it is based on a short story by a Portland author and was filmed here in Portland. It is the story of a homeless woman who has two valuable possessions: her car and her dog, Lucy. En route from Indiana to Alaska, her car breaks down in Portland and, through a series of events, she loses her dog. The entire movie is dedicated to the three days she spends here trying to find her dog and resume her trip.
This is not a movie you go to when you want to escape. It is an 80-minute look at some of the realities of homelessness. There is no comedy, no thrilling action scenes and no white knight who saves the day. All in all it presents a pretty bleak and just plain sad picture.
Michelle Williams is very believable as Wendy and the rest of the cast looks like they were plucked right off the streets of Portland. The gritty cast, combined with limited dialog and slow pacing all contribute to the futility of her situation. The real tension comes, however, in that everyone in the audience desperately wants her to find Lucy.
While I can't heartily recommend this movie (because it's so sad), it has stuck with me. Twenty-four hours later, I continue to see how it quietly illuminated some of the many issues facing the homeless. If it does this for everyone who sees it, who cares about "entertainment value."
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