Dear Wendy (2005)

37% of critics liked it
(60 reviews)
54% of users liked it
(16,139 ratings)

The contradictions of America's simultaneous love and fear of violence go under the microscope in this drama from Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg. Dick (Jamie Bell) is a timid young man growing up in a mining town where he's been deemed to frail to work with the other men. Dick is given a toy gun… More The contradictions of America's simultaneous love and fear of violence go under the microscope in this drama from Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg. Dick (Jamie Bell) is a timid young man growing up in a mining town where he's been deemed to frail to work with the other men. Dick is given a toy gun by a girl who works in a dime store, and he becomes fascinated with the weapon -- especially when it becomes clear that the gun isn't a toy after all. Dick and a handful of other local misfits who are also interested in guns form a gang called "the Dandies," a band of self-styled pacifists who make it their policy to never use their weapons as they lead the town's young people by example. However, as their obsession with firearms grows, Dick and his fellow Dandies are approached by local police chief Krugsby (Bill Pullman), who asks them to look after Sebastian (Danso Gordon), the violent son of Dick's maid Clarabelle (Novella Nelson). At first, the Dandies see this as a challenge to bring Sebastian over to the cause of nonviolence, but soon his influence begins to impact Dick and his compatriots, with devastating results. Scripted by Lars von Trier, Dear Wendy received its North American premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 41 min.
Directed By: Thomas Vinterberg
Written By: Lars von Trier
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Sep 23, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Mar 21, 2006
Studio: Wellspring Media

Critic Reviews

Michael Posner, Globe and Mail
We get it, Lars. Actually, we got it some time ago. Guns are bad things. They kill people and Americans are obsessed with them. Can we move on now?
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
The scenario's practically straitjacketed in commentary. Von Trier's weak story doesn't help.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
Like the Dandies, Vinterberg and Von Trier are fascinated by something they despise, and despise it even more for fascinating them. And in the end, like the Dandies, Vinterberg and Von Trier still don't know the first thing about it.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
The audience is clearly expected to enjoy the bloodbath even while it disapproves.
Ty Burr, Boston Globe
Dear Wendy is loaded with ideas, some half-baked, some dead-on, some just stupid, and Vinterberg throws them at the screen willy-nilly.
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
For a film that explores the nuances of this complicated issue, I suggest you rent Gus Van Sant's Elephant.
Enrique Buchichio, Uruguay Total
Entre la sátira, la fábula y el comentario crítico (...) el interés se pierde y no convencen.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The highlight is when a female member of the Dandies bares her breasts, which is about as pointless as the rest of the film.
Ron Reed, Christianity Today
Naive, corruptible, lonely young man meets femme fatale, and it all leads, inevitably, absurdly, to destruction.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
The result is mixed.
Chris Cabin, Filmcritic.com
a private joke for two guys who should know better.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
The film has the unmistakable imprint of [Lars] von Trier, with its heavy-handed tirade, masquerading as satire, assailing what he perceives to be America's obsessions with guns and violence.
Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
Von Trier's caricature of teen angst and Vinterberg's junkyard-chic stylistic flourishes aren't about anything but their loathing of American culture.
Andrew Wright, The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
you won't know whether to laugh, cry, or moon the screen. Von Trier shoots, von Trier scores.
John Hartl, Seattle Times
If Jamie Bell can't rescue a movie, it's probably not salvageable.
William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The message doesn't come through with any particular wit or metaphoric punch, and it makes such a strong case for the joys of gun ownership that it could serve as a recruiting film for the National Rifle Association.
Marc Mohan, Oregonian
When you have to ask yourself whether this parable is intended as comedic satire or stone-cold-serious moralizing, that's a big sign that you're watching a misfire.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
A dumb movie that thinks it's smart is the worst kind of awful.
Brian Orndorf, FilmJerk.com
Wendy might have a bizarre sense of locale and idolatry, but the imagination of the filmmakers is just enough to help swallow their incredibly condescending posturing.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

I was expecting a little more. I can't say that I was disappointed, but I thought that there could have been more to the plot. Some of the special effects work well with the movie, and play into its slightly dangerous charms. Something that's worth a look, I just… More
I was expecting a little more. I can't say that I was disappointed, but I thought that there could have been more to the plot. Some of the special effects work well with the movie, and play into its slightly dangerous charms. Something that's worth a look, I just wouldn't consider this an idie classic.
♥˩ƳИИ &

Jamie Bell, Michael Angarano, Allison Pill, Bill Pullman, Chris Owen, Mark Webber, Danso Gordon, Novella Nelson DIRECTED BY: Thomas Vinterberg When a young loner named Dick discovers a handgun, he finds himself strangely drawn to it despite his pacifist views. Soon he forms a… More
Jamie Bell, Michael Angarano, Allison Pill, Bill Pullman, Chris Owen, Mark Webber, Danso Gordon, Novella Nelson DIRECTED BY: Thomas Vinterberg When a young loner named Dick discovers a handgun, he finds himself strangely drawn to it despite his pacifist views. Soon he forms a secret club with other misfits in his town who collect and revere antique guns and call themselves the Dandies. But despite their firm belief in the most important Dandy rule of all - "never draw your weapons" - they eventually discover that some rules are meant to be broken. One of the oddest but yet amusing movies I have seen. It all seems very silly. But it's also so different from any film I have ever seen. I felt like I was watching a Western. Especially in watching the ending. The only thing missing was some tumble weeds blowing by. Most of the acting was good. Love Jamie Bell. Thought Michael Angarano was quite funny and quirky. I loved that they used The Zombies as their soundtrack. Great stuff. This movie is interesting and one of a kind. Should be seen.
Anthony L

This is not the film I was expecting from Vinterberg and Von Trier but it is as good as I'd hoped! It's visually stunning in places and very cool. Some of the cast let it down but on the whole this is a great film!
Cassandra M

Apart from a few moments of jarring reality - this whole film seems like one of the brief dream like sequences from some of Lars Von Trier's earlier films. The story is grounded in the mundanity of modern youth, but uses a contrived Western style backdrop to extract it's… More
Apart from a few moments of jarring reality - this whole film seems like one of the brief dream like sequences from some of Lars Von Trier's earlier films. The story is grounded in the mundanity of modern youth, but uses a contrived Western style backdrop to extract it's rites of passage plot and at times elements of shocking brutality are numbed by the histrionics employed in delivering them. The use of sets and choice to place the story in an old mining community, the Zombies heavy soundtrack and the use of solely modern-looking cars takes the film away from reality slightly placing it in a timeless environment by nature of conflicting periods. Centrally the characters dress and sense of honour as well as there insistence on using old fashioned guns is an interesting study in today's youths obsession with "retro" and also the contradiction of guns and pacifism is reminiscent of modern teenagers left wing crusades conflicting with their obsessive consumerism. The supporting performances are solid, if a little too mannered, but Jamie Bell's protagonist is difficult to place - quite spiteful and too disaffected to consider the fatal consequences of his actions. All in all this is an enjoyable film, with a none to0 subtle nor fresh, but always relevant message at the end that lacks the cold, bleak reality of some of Von Trier's and Vinterberg's earlier work. Still as a starting point for someone looking to get into the work of the aforementioned talents, this is a more accessible and light piece that won't leave you breath taken or thinking to much, but that's definitely worth a relaxed perusal.
Luke B

One half is a great and intelligent film. It deals with a pacifist gun club, without becoming wacky or bonkers. It plays it straight but the satire is still obvious without being forced upon it's audience. Bell is a superb actor, and the chemistry between him and his gun is… More
One half is a great and intelligent film. It deals with a pacifist gun club, without becoming wacky or bonkers. It plays it straight but the satire is still obvious without being forced upon it's audience. Bell is a superb actor, and the chemistry between him and his gun is surprisingly real. It's a relationship you can feel for and to see Bell get jealous when somebody else fires it, without his performance becoming parody, is truly masterful. A good young supporting cast and a soundtrack by one of my favorite bands ever, The Zombies, are also superb. Each song is carefully selected and used to great advantage. The last third it all goes tits up. A fairly believable commentary on the love affair America has with guns, turns into exactly what it managed to avoid being. It becomes a shoot-out galore and suddenly things stop making sense. Pullman is relegated from a considerate and kind police sheriff, to a clichÃ©d Western villain. It's a real shame that the film didn't know how to end.
E.J. B

Ignorant, and dumb.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "Dear Wendy", Dick(Jamie Bell), a pacifist supermarket worker, is informed one day by Stevie(Mark Webber), a co-worker and gun aficionado, that the toy gun he has been carrying around for years is in fact a real gun. The two men bond and they gain… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "Dear Wendy", Dick(Jamie Bell), a pacifist supermarket worker, is informed one day by Stevie(Mark Webber), a co-worker and gun aficionado, that the toy gun he has been carrying around for years is in fact a real gun. The two men bond and they gain confidence from the firearms they carry around with them. So much so, they decide to share the joy with their fellow outcasts.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Written by Lars von Trier and directed by Thomas Vinterberg, "Dear Wendy" is an intriguing and offbeat allegory about guns in today's society. The movie explores why people carry them(some characters are afraid of unseen gangs) and how guns change people. And, theoretically a pacifist may carry a gun(although I never would), just as long as it is never used against another human being.[/font]
Nick G

This movie is proof you can't just take a stance on something and throw it together to make a movie, no matter how much you want to write it off as disturbed character piece. This movie was sloppy at times and silly at others, while it slowly went downhill at the mid-part, any… More
This movie is proof you can't just take a stance on something and throw it together to make a movie, no matter how much you want to write it off as disturbed character piece. This movie was sloppy at times and silly at others, while it slowly went downhill at the mid-part, any hope of it recovering to become a decent movie is lost at the transition to Act 3 when in one scene it starts to become laughable. You can't just make a movie and say you are making a statement, no matter how much you believe in it yourself or how powerful you want it to be. There still has to be some rhyme or reason holding it together, and this movie gets to be just ridiculous. It has a great cast and the acting is solid. Jamie Bell is great, Pullman and Angarano are under used. I really can't say anything positive about it other than that though, and the acting is the reason I'm giving it 3 stars rather than 2 or 2.5.
Sunil J

A lot of hate for this movie but I thought it was so original and interesting.
Henrik S

What an extraordinary imaginative and well directed movie that was. The story is about a gang of boys, led by the somewhat off-beatish boy Dick who form a gang called the "Dandies", a secret society obsessed with classic marksmanship and honor codes. The movie adressess many… More
What an extraordinary imaginative and well directed movie that was. The story is about a gang of boys, led by the somewhat off-beatish boy Dick who form a gang called the "Dandies", a secret society obsessed with classic marksmanship and honor codes. The movie adressess many issues on a very subtle and beautifully mellow level. The question of gun possession, how modern weaponry and warfare went over the top, especially in the context of youth politics. The movie has the quirkyness and love for its characters like a Wes Anderson movie, but also sports the brooding Post-America atmosphere of Lars von Trier and David Lynch movies. The cast is brilliant, from Pullman to Jamie Bell, so is the 60ies OST. I strongly recommend this movie to my friends here at Flixster, you will be surprised and raising your eyebrows at times but cannot help to be immersed, forced to rethink often and of course entertained by this work of art. H.
Dimitris S

Vinterberg brings up the Dogme theme,Von Trier's pocketful of miracles is vanishing yet obviously affecting.Major turnaround since his debut film Festen,he reminds me of Aronofsky.Reckless decisions over the script's details.It's a powerful film,I don't deny it… More
Vinterberg brings up the Dogme theme,Von Trier's pocketful of miracles is vanishing yet obviously affecting.Major turnaround since his debut film Festen,he reminds me of Aronofsky.Reckless decisions over the script's details.It's a powerful film,I don't deny it however a work of art is measured in surprise and not just impressionism and controversy.What's the message of the lesson children?Don't mess and underestimate the big boys with swords (OK,guns but I had to embroider it a bit)