Reply With QuoteThis sounds utterly fantastic, Lars von Trier is brilliant. Dogville was the best thing of 2003.
How did you get to see this so early?
Lars von Trier has a knack for writing beautiful, intelligent films, serving up plenty of style while always keeping the focus on substance. Dear Wendy is no exception.
The film paints a fairly bleak picture of life in a small, crap mining town somewhere in the American Midwest. Dick (Jamie Bell) is a hopeless loser, drifting through life until a chance encounter leads him to develop an affinity for handguns. A small group of like-minded teenaged loners from the town are quickly sucked into his world, and they take to an abandoned mine building, there to practice their love of shooting.
The group name themselves “The Dandies”. Pledging never to reveal their guns in public, but to carry them for moral support, they describe themselves as armed pacifists, all the while honing their skills, naming and talking to their guns, dressing in ridiculous clothes and striking equally ridiculous poses.
Of course, their idyllic (if somewhat mental) lifestyle can’t go on forever, and when Dick introduces Sebastian (Danso Gordon) to the group, everything goes a bit pear-shaped. The film ends in a dramatic shoot-out with the police, which, while heavy with symbolism, remains deeply engaging in its own right. The Dandies are very sympathetic characters, a fact which takes much of the sting out of the film’s criticism of Western attitudes towards weaponry. “You’re not bad people”, it seems to be saying “you’re just kind of insane.”
Dear Wendy is full of engaging performances. Bill Pullman plays an excellent policeman, just ever-so-slightly sinister, and Jamie Bell handles the lead role magnificently. His voiceovers, on the other hand, leave a lot to be desired. These feature prominently throughout the film, which is a shame as Bell just can’t quite get the delivery right. This is a minor complaint, however, and can be easily excused, given his otherwise impeccable performance.
Gorgeous cinematography, flawless direction and some snappy editing contribute a lot to the film’s style, especially the short cutaways to x-ray photography of bullets penetrating flesh. The soundtrack is heavy on ‘60s hippie types The Zombies, whose lyrics are at points co-opted and woven into the plot. An out-and-out splendid piece of cinema, Dear Wendy is a must-see.
Dear Wendy will be showing at the Glasgow Film Theatre from the 5th of August. Rated 15.
http://www.dearwendythemovie.com/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0342272/
Last edited by Ghostsuit; 21st December 2005 at 3:27am.
This sounds utterly fantastic, Lars von Trier is brilliant. Dogville was the best thing of 2003.
How did you get to see this so early?
You are my new favourite person.Originally Posted by mysterio
I'm on the GFT's press list. I have an official hat, and everything.How did you get to see this so early?
Press list? How on earth do you wangle that?
By knowing Jennie, and by reviewing things for this here magamazine.
The UGC aren't showing Dear Wendy, oddly. Which means i'm going to have to pay, bah.
Loved Dogville, must go see this. Missed Jamie Bell's last film because the UGC showed it for one week and one week only.
Dear Wendy seems to have vanished into the ether..
Fuck, that was quick.
Away and see Asylum, then. It's got Ian McKellen in.
Wish i had read that before I went to see Me and You and Everyone We Know.
Fucking godawful!
I was supposed to be reviewing that one, but completely failed to make it to the cinema. Sorry, I could probably have warned you.
On A Clear Day tomorrow, though.
It's still on at the GFT if you want to subject yourself to "This years lost in translation!"
On A Clear Day, is that the one with the scottish hobbit? Looks a bit pish, too!
Posting Permissions 
Bookmarks