Wendy Carroll (Michelle Williams) is a taciturn twenty-something drifter en route from Muncie, Indiana to the Alaskan canneries. A series of mishaps results in the disappearance of her dog, Lucy, apparently her only friend. Wendy’s search for her missing canine forces her to examine things, ultimately leading her to a crossroads where a difficult choice awaits.
Wendy is a loner and something of a mystery: what’s hiding underneath that bandage on her ankle, what’s with all the cash stashed in her bag, and why can’t she come up with an address? Reichardt doesn’t give many answers about Wendy’s situation. Instead, she gradually reveals Wendy’s character through small events: her car breaks down in a parking lot, a loss prevention employee follows her through a store, she needs to find the local pound, she calls her sister from a payphone. At every turn, Wendy is forced to seek help from people. Her task is to decide whether to trust them. Sometimes, these people surprise her—- and us.
This is not a road movie. Wendy and Lucy is a quiet film with a slow pace—- sometimes painfully slow. Not a whole lot happens, but that’s not really the point. The focus is on Wendy and her interactions with others. Therein lies the conflict. Williams nails Wendy’s skittishness so well, you actually feel her clumsy discomfort with each encounter. You also feel Wendy’s desperation when Williams turns on the tears. Wally Dalton is excellent as a dull-witted, grandfatherly security guard. His optimistic temperament and subtly dry delivery contrast nicely with Wendy. John Robinson plays Andy with an aggressive ambition that’s downright comical. Will Oldman is hilarious as hyperactive granola boy Icky, who spent some time in Alaska himself and voluntarily shares too much information with Wendy.
A few more intense scenes, like one in which Wendy crosses paths with a derelict in the woods at night, could have given Wendy and Lucy more momentum. Nonetheless, it sustains interest long enough to keep you rooting for Wendy until the end—- which occurs right when it should.