Wendy and Lucy (2008)

“Wendy and Lucy” is a short story of a film, which provides no pretense or even a clear future. Michelle Williams is Wendy. Lucy is her dog. Wendy is a 20-something woman making her way from Indiana to Alaska, stuck in Oregon. With no past, we only know that Lucy is desperate to stay off the grid, has precious little money and her car just died. Then Wendy is arrested in a sorry attempt at shoplifting. The next ax? Lucy goes missing. That’s it, but enough. This struggle of one woman is plenty drama enough, and damn heart-tugging, especially her interaction with a grandfatherly security guard. (And that dog!) Director/co-writer Kelly Reichardt never pushes any envelopes, even during a tense seen with a man in the woods at night, but shows life as it is … unknowable, confusing and harsh, but also quite nice when a stranger provides kindness. Williams is amazing. A-