Wendy and Lucy

I'd been meaning to check this out for a while - it first came to my attention when I was in the UK, but not being in a big city, I wasn't able to get to it. So when I got to Paris I was happy to see it hadn't yet started its theatrical run. Better still, I was glad to see a film which had had a fairly low profile in the UK, was actually getting a hell of a lot of publicity out here. This situation has also been replicated with some other 'indie' features, including Rachel Getting Married, which has some seriously big posters down in the metro. It's not released yet, but I'll be interested to see what business it does out here.

Back to W&L: I went to see it as part of a film club. Alas my company (who I'd not met previously) weren't so appreciative of the film, with the American woman at the end saying 'that was crap' just a little too loudly at the end. And I can see why people would be frustrated with the film. However, I was dying to recommend 'In the city of Sylvia' to her...

I make the parallel with 'In the city...' because what they have in common is their lack of 'action', that we're accustomed to. By action, I mean narrative, not action as an an 'action-movie'. But I often find these films the most rewarding. I think that an accurate representation of real life in any art is the greatest challenge, and achievement if well done (you may not be surprised to find that the French 'realists' are among my favourite novelists). Hence, films that are well done in near-enough 'real time' are my high - think '4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days'...

W&L is the story of Wendy and her dog, who are on the road towards Alaska, where Wendy hopes to get a job, since she's heard they're looking for people. At the start of the film, they've pulled up in Oregon for a pit stop. And from the outset, we're informed about Wendy's lack of money, which forms the backbone of the film. I knew I would empathise with her because I've come to paris without a job - my last 2 UK clients have only just paid me (both over a month overdue) and I've literally been counting my pennies every single day to try and get by. And in this situation, all expenditure is analysed and has to be justified. One night when I didn't have enough money for a hostel (and my friend already had people staying), it actually crossed my mind to stay out late and eventually crash in a stairwell of a friend's parents' flat that I had the entry code to. I'm not sure how seriously I entertained that thought, but as it happened I ended up in a cheap hostel, and didn't get a wink of sleep due to fat guy in bed opposite snoring his head off all night. I only tell you this story because I could tell exactly how Wendy came to the conclusion that she would be alright sleeping in the woods.

Michelle Williams is so perfectly cast. She is a really under-appreciated actress and all the better for it because I feel that having grown up with her on Dawsons, she is really at home in this rural America environment (Brokeback confirmed that too). I'm not sure of her age, but she is such a waif in this film that she could easily pass for early twenties. I think she was flawless.

I really felt like I was going through the emotions with her - when she got caught shoplifting and spent the whole day dealing with it, and incurred the fine, I know far too well that feeling of saving money, only to end up paying more, and wasting time later. That sense of hopelessness that you know her dog is going to be missing when she gets back. The irritating store clerk who she has to face again. That sense of desperation that you're dealing with a potentially infinite problem - it could be weeks or months before she finds the dog, if at all. Then the car! All these unforeseen costs that prove that you can't ever really budget in your own life. And the episode in the woods! I felt like I could imagine or remember, similar situations happening to me. I'm sure I'm not alone in that. I thought it was fantastic.