Sunday, May 24, 2020

Wendy and Lucky Story - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 957 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/03/19 Category Art Essay Level High school Tags: Film Analysis Essay Did you like this example? Abstract At the surface level, Wendy and Lucy is a story about a young woman and the struggles she faces as she attempts to find her lost canine companion on limited funds as she travels through a run-down Oregonian town. The setting of the story is confined to only a couple of days, and little to no background information is revealed about the titular character, Wendy, throughout the narrative†but through her struggles, and the way in which they are portrayed, the film paints a careful portrait both of the reality of people living on a budget with absolutely no room for error and of the mundane nature of life in small, forgotten towns.. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Wendy and Lucky Story" essay for you Create order By Hollywood standards, little happens in the films 80-minute run: Wendy and Lucy pass through Oregon on their way to Alaska in hopes of a jobwith benefitsat a cannery, Wendys old, depleted car breaks down after miles of wear and tear on the drive from Indiana, Wendy is caught stealing food for Lucy, Wendy goes to jail for shoplifting, Lucy goes missing, and Wendy attempts to find her lost companion with no cash, no cellphone, and no clue where to begin. Through the intentionally quiet and stark nature of the narrative, co-Screenwriter and director Kelly Reichardt avoids explicitly revealing the films key themes through narrative and rather employs lighting and contrast, characterization, and cinematography to subtly reveal details of Wendys story, and the larger tale of poverty at play through a deeply realist lens. As a whole, the films overarching themes are achieved both through the consistent and general use of mise en scene and cinematography throughout the duration of the film as well as through deliberate constructions and manipulations of these elements in specific scenes. As Film Art emphasizes, perhaps no component of mise-en-scene is more critical to the essence of a film than, as phrased by Sternberg, the adventure of drama and light. (Film Art, page. 131) Wendy and Lucy follows that rule; through low-contrast, muted blue tones, the films lighting and color heavily influences how the reader perceives the films narrative. The high-key lighting employed in the outdoor daytime scenes†which make up a majority of the film†eliminates contrast and leads to a dull, flattened appearance that highlights Wendys muted, internalized emotional state†and further, highlights the dull, mundane existence of life in impoverished rural communities across the country. However, the opposite is true when Wendy finds herself in extremely vulnerable or even threatening situations; in a scene near the beginning of the film, Wendy comes across a group of vagrants in the woods after Lucy runs a bit ahead. The high contrast of the dark night sky and the faces of the men and women lit by firelight produce an entirely different emotional response in the audience than the low-contrast day-time scenes. The same effect is on display when Wendy goes to jail; the stark overhead lighting of the jail produces a harsh contrast, or chiaroscuro, that contributes to a feeling of heightened somberness and unease. With the inclusion of these high contrast scenes with low-key lighting in tense or uncertain situations, the film suggests that while daily life for people on the fringes of society tends to be dull and mundane, feelings of uneasiness and fear are only one unfortunate happenstance away. This emotional state explored via contrast and color is further emphasized through the acting of Michelle Williams as Wendy. Though concepts of realism in performance have drastically changed over time, Williams barebones performance falls on the minimalistic end of the stylized spectrum. (Film Art p. 132) There is no added flair to Wendys words or actions; she simply moves through space quietly. This is not to say that Williams performance is flat; Wendy displays emotional duress both when she is jailed and later when she has an intimidating encounter with a homeless man in the woods while searching for Lucy. However, Williams performance of Wendy is extremely small, and this acting style combined with Wendys characterization leads to a fairly limited scope of depth. Because of her circumstances, the viewer is able to make educated assumptions about Wendys inner thoughts and feelings, but the film itself does little to explain Wendys background or inner emotional state. In relation to depth, the films range is extremely limited; the audience possesses little information about any of the events in the story, and rather only learns of new information as Wendy learns of it onscreen. For example, one of the few details about Wendys life that the audience learns is revealed through a telephone conversation with her brother-in-law and estranged sister after she loses Lucy. Wendy calls from a public telephone, and the scene is shot from outside the paneled glass window covering the booth. The reflections of the cars passing by is shown on the glass, and the sounds of the car engines is nearly as loud as Wendys voice as she speaks. By placing importance on Wendys surroundings during the phone call, the film shows that although Wendys world is falling apart†she has literally lost Lucy, her companion, with no indication that she can be found and has no way of looking for her because of her broken down vehicle†the world in the small town around her persists on as usual. This phone call scene also serves as a small glimpse into Wendys reality, though it perhaps raises more questions than it answers; Wendys brother-in-law presents a friendly voice, but her sisters harsh comments in the background show that she and Wendy do not share a particularly pleasant relationship. Wendy is clearly affected, if not surprised by, her sisters lack of compassion toward her situation. However, as she states on the call, she wasnt seeking help.

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