DVD Reviews

Dear Wendy

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Bill Pullman
• Details: Denmark, France, UK, 105 mins, 15.

Written by Lars von Trier and directed by his Dogme 95 brother, Thomas Vinterberg, Dear Wendy is a typically self-conscious meditation on American culture, specifically gun culture, with a wide reference to the Wild West and the Western genre, racial inequality, personal development and social status.
Dick is an introverted loner who is befriended by his equally unsociable co-worker Stevie, who shares his enthusiasm in firearms with Dick. The pair can only find expression through this love of guns, which leads to a new sense of confidence in them both as individuals. Wishing to share their secret with others, Dick and Stevie gather a handful of fellow 'losers' from Electric Park. And thus, this merry band of 'pacifists with guns' is formed into 'The Dandies' using the town's abandoned mineshafts as their HQ and sanctuary. All's going well until Sebastian, a convicted murder whom Dick decides to try and turn into a gun carrying pacifist, is added to the equation and an explosive element is unleashed in them all. While Dear Wendy, as a social commentary, has a lot to offer, at times the unnaturally stilted narration grates. The performances are wonderful, particularly from Bell, Pullman and Angarano, however, in places the merging of past and present doesn't gel seamlessly and the whole thing takes itself much too seriously. That said, this is still an interesting film, and well worth a look.

Review by Elaine Reilly