Dear Wendy (2005)

My enjoyment of the seemingly obsure led me to this selection. Dear Wendy is a provocative and engaging character study. Beautiful composition by writer/director Thomas Vinteberg {new to me} creates a fresh bittersweet tale.

Dick Dandelion (Jamie Bell) is a social outcast in any Smalltown, USA. When he disocvers that the toy gun he purchased for an idiot friend is actually a small handgun, Dick finds himself strangly drawn to it despite his fervent pacifist views. When he finds a fellow sympathizer in Stevie (Mark Webber), the two delve into the history and nuances of their respective weapons. Before long it becomes an obsession and, after recruiting a few more misfits from town (Chris Owen, Alison Pill, Michael Angarano), The Dandies--a pacifist gun club--is born.

The group is ruled by a strict code of conduct that each member eagerly obeys and fervently respects. Each of these social rejects are the direct result of their circumstances and as they find acceptance and confidence with the Dandies, each member {and their silent partner} loom large. With the power of their knowledge and their choice to wield is responsibly, the Dandies maintain the ritualistic existence until the world comes crashing in with the arrival of Sebastian (Danso Gordon).

The ensemble cast is remarkably strong. A young Jamie Bell leads the way as Dick and provides narration for our story. Bell plays the character for sympathy and never loses sight of what makes Dick vulnerable. Mark Webber is equally captivating. Brother Huey and Freddie (Owen and Angarano respectively) and Susan (Alison Pill) each add a quirk or theme that rounds out our study.

Dear Wendy is beautifully outrageous and equally graphic. Director Vinterberg weaves tight cinematography with light and dark that plays well against the human condition provided by the remarkable screenplay. His use of The Zombies laden soundtrack adds a strangely morose touch.

Dear Wendy is, I hesitate, like a modern day Western. Perhaps it's more a reworking of a western film. Building to a climax that guarantees a reaction--a climax that is brilliant {a study in perfection}, Dear Wendy is oddly pitch perfect.