Wendy And Lucy (2008)

A young woman (Michelle Williams) is traveling with her dog from Indiana to Alaska when her car breaks down in Oregon. Lacking funds, she is arrested for shoplifting and when she returns to the store, her dog is missing and she begins the process of trying to find her. Based on the short story TRAIN CHOIR by Jon Raymond and directed by Kelly Reichardt (CERTAIN WOMEN). I'd avoided watching this movie for years fearing it would be ultra depressing and I was right. Like her other films, this is a minimalist movie that takes its time in telling its story. Reichardt puts her poverty stricken heroine through the wringer, no heroine has suffered more this side of Lars von Trier! Williams gives a moving performance as the film's put upon heroine enduring isolation and hardship. The bittersweet ending is rightfully played but it's a grim film nonetheless. With Walter Dalton (very touching as an elderly security guard), Will Patton and Larry Fessenden.