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A dog day at AFF
Starring a girl and her dog, the minimalist indie drama “Wendy and Lucy” melted hearts during its Austin Film Festival premiere Sunday night at the Paramount Theatre.
Directed by Kelly Reichardt and written by Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond, the drama tells the story of a homeless woman named Wendy — played by a grubby Michelle Williams in a pixie haircut — who loses her dog Lucy as they’re traveling to Alaska.
Plot-wise, that’s about it. The rest is emotional textures, so real they sting. It’s as heartbreaking and naturalistic as anything from the Italian neo-realists. Expect an early 2009 release.
Raymond and Austin-based producer Anish Savjani answered audience questions after the film. Raymond described Williams’ restrained, almost blank performance, as “black-belt acting, expressing without expressing.” It’s an apt way of putting it. And it’s also a supreme compliment.
Raymond and Savjani at the Paramount on Sunday
Williams and doggie Lucy
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