Finally, some confirmation, to me, that my prayers have been answered. Michelle, who has shown nothing but dignity and class, throughout this tragedy is back on the red carpet.

The way I see it, if she's taking care of herself, Matilda will be happy and Matilda's happiness and well being would have been Heath's number one priority. I'm also looking forward to her movies. She was fabulous as Alma and has been underrated for some time now.

Over the course of 80 minutes, Wendy (a very good Michelle Williams) drives into a shabby Oregon town with her dog, Lucy.
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Michelle Williams is in every scene of "Wendy and Lucy," and ably carries that burden — with her dark pixie haircut and cut-offs, she looks frighteningly vulnerable, an indie urchin stuck in circumstances both dire and mundane, her open face registering every frustration, triumph and terror despite her efforts otherwise. Reichardt's approach in the film is similar underplayed — by refusing to wring out easy sentiments from the script, which, like "Old Joy," is co-written and based on a short story by Jonathan Raymond; her actors; or her style, which is elegant and unobtrusive, the only music Wendy's own humming, she's created something of incredible emotional genuineness that's one of my favorites in the festival.

Reichardt shoots this scene in tight close-ups, her lens focused mostly on Williams, who conveys all the emotional tension of this moment through the most minute of facial expressions.

Later, locked in the public restroom of a gas station, Wendy breaks down, ragged sobs escaping her as she struggles to pull herself together. The release of wrenching emotional tension in this scene fills the audience as well; Williams' fear and the weight of her desperation feel very real.

That Williams carries the entire film through moments like this is a testament to her under-appreciated abilities as an actress. She's grown tremendously over the past few years, and with two films at Cannes this year (she's also got a major role in Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, NY), she may be finally moving into a new realm in her career.

Also serving to boost the film's commercial appeal is Michelle Williams in the lead role. Although by no means a bankable star on her own, Williams is developing a sterling reputation as one of the most adventurous and versatile actors of her generation and this film, combined with upcoming titles from Charlie Kaufman, Lukas Moodysson and Martin Scorsese should continue to cement her name in both financing and critical circles.

Williams is superb here, unbeautified and effortlessly natural as a woman driving a clapped out Honda from her homestate of Indiana to Alaska in search of lucrative work at a fish cannery.