Day 4- Movie 5. Wendy and Lucy (2008)

Movie #5! I'm already 5% of the way to my goal. I've been trying to switch up the genres and decades of the films I've been watching. It's certainly possible that at some point in these 100 movies, I'll hit a number of similiar films in a row. However, I'm doing my best to spread the types of films around. There's so many great movies that I haven't seen, spanning 90+ years and I'm going to try to use this challenge to hit a variety of them. With this, my fifth film, I decided to go the independent route. I've wanted to see Wendy and Lucy since it came out in 2008 because I heard so many great things about Michelle Williams, and I wanted to see what all the talk was about.

I always enjoy watching small budget independent movies because they are so different from the big moneymakers that roll out of Hollywood nearly every week. They are certainly a different type of movie, and it requires you to go into them with a different mindset. I am certainly no independent movie expert- I try to see the important ones when I can, but I tend to gravitate towards the better known, event movies. One of the things I've found with smaller movies is that while they often afford the lead actor or actress the chance to really showcase their ability, the movie itself doesn't always live up to that performance.

This movie is a perfect example of that scenario. Wendy and Lucy is a simple story- it's about a girl searching for her lost dog. The story itself is fine, and it is a quiet, compelling little movie. However, there's very little to get excited about with the story. The movie really belongs to Michelle Williams and her impressive performance. Williams goes the typical Oscar-bait, independent movie route of making herself "ugly." This is a classic technique that is used by actresses, often to great effect. Charlize Theron won an Oscar, partially because she went the ugly route in Monster. Nicole Kidman won an Oscar, partially for playing ugly with a prosthetic nose in The Hours.

Michelle Williams didn't win an Oscar, but she certainly went that route here, not using makeup or washing her hair at all during filming. I think it's an overdone tactic, but you also have to appreciate the effort. Williams gives a very restrained, quietly powerful performance as Wendy. I really enjoyed watching her act here, and she gets a meaty role to show off her talent. Throughout the movie, she is nearly unrecognizable. That is always impressive.

While I liked her here, I really struggle with Michelle Williams. It is hard for me to buy her as a serious actress, but I suppose I need to rethink that opinion. With films like Wendy and Lucy, Brokeback Mountain, and others, she's proven that she has some real talent. I'm not sure why I tend to dismiss her as a lightweight actress, but if she keeps giving undeniably good performances, I'll eventually come around. She certainly is impressive here.

Unfortunately, the movie itself left me wanting a little more. The movie was definitely a vehicle for Williams to give a memorable performance, but I thought the story and the characters were a little underwhelming. Again, this isn't a bad movie, but it's not exactly a good one, either. It exists in that in-between, the realm of "decent" movies that so many inhabit. I'd give this film a 6.5/10.

What do you think about Michelle Williams? Is she a great actress? Is she overrated? What are the best "playing ugly" roles? Is that concept offensive?