Director: Kelly Reichardt
Screenplay: Jon Raymond and Kelly Reichardt
From the story: Train Choir by Jon Raymond
Starring: Michelle Williams, Walter Dalton, Will Patton, Larry Fessenden, Will Oldham, John Robinson, Deirdre O’Connell
Country: United States
Running Time: 80 min
Year: 2008
BBFC Certificate: 15
Director Kelly Reichardt and actor Michelle Williams forged a perfect working relationship in the past 20 years. Williams appeared in four of the director’s films, starting with Wendy and Lucy (2008) and concluding, so far, with Showing Up (2022).
In between those two films were Meek’s Cutoff (2010) and Certain Women (2016) but the subject of this review is that first collaboration Wendy and Lucy (2008), which is getting the fabulous Second Run treatment on Blu-ray.
Wendy and Lucy was adapted for the screen by Reichardt and author Jon Raymond from his short story Train Choir. The film follows Wendy (Williams), who is homeless and travelling to Alaska with her dog, Lucy, to find work at a local food preservation factory.
However, whilst travelling through Oregon the pair become stranded, as Wendy can’t afford to fix their car. Matters get even worse when Wendy is arrested for trying to steal some dog food she’s unable to pay for (an earlier shot shows us everything she’s spent money on and how she has around $500 to her name).
Things go south even further when she’s released from police custody and discovers that Lucy, who was left tied up outside the store where the theft occurred, has disappeared. The film follows Wendy’s attempts to find Lucy, played by Reichardt’s own dog of the same name which also appeared in Old Joy.
The way the film is shot, and the tension about whether Wendy will find Lucy, really helps with the atmosphere no end – it’s a drama and character study but feels almost like a thriller.
The cinematography is beautiful, carefully observing Wendy, Lucy and the characters they meet but never judging. It also captures the locations and local wildlife wonderfully, from the train tracks of the opening, to a group of birds perched on electrical lines, to a solitary bird flying in the sky, and the woodland that surrounds the town where Wendy finds herself.
On the acting front, Williams is magnificent. It was her work with Reichardt that helped her cement her reputation as a serious actor, following her rise to stardom with the hit TV series Dawson’s Creek, and roles like this show just what a great one she is. We’re very much ‘in the now’ with her as she tries to make ends meet but is frustrated by the breakdown of her car and devastated by the loss of her dog. Snippets of her life outside of the now are revealed through elements like a phone call to her family, and her licence plates which suggest she’s travelled many miles from Indiana, while a map shows where she intends to travel. She’s also off the grid as she has no phone of her own. This is minimalist, masterful storytelling that demands your attention.
Whilst we never truly get under the skin of why Wendy has found herself in this predicament, we feel for her every step of the way as her life unfolds in a random Oregon town she’s unfortunate enough to breakdown in.
There’s an air of anxiety around her; anxiety about getting the next meals for herself and Lucy, anxiety about how she’ll get her car fixed to get back on her way to the job and money she so desperately wants and needs; and anxiety about finding her dog, but also of whether the next person she’ll meet in the town will help or hinder her.
There are some marvellous supporting players bringing the townsfolk to life, including the always delightful to see Larry Fessenden and Will Patton. These are some players in the larger story but all help give the drama more depth and give it a novel-like quality at times.
Fessenden’s character, whom Wendy encounters in a park, shot in the dark so you only get small glimpses of him, features in a standout scene. He is angry at his lot in life, a train can be heard passing in the background, and we see Wendy’s face potentially scared or reserved because what Fessenden’s character says resonates with her own life, possibly both lead to her reaction.
I’d wager it’s mostly terror as Fessenden’s character is utterly chilling and, as one of the extras points out, appears out of the blue like an apparition. It’s essentially a horror sequence in a drama. Wendy runs away after Fessenden’s character finishes speaking and breaks down in tears in a washroom. It’s a brilliant sequence.
My favourite of the characters Wendy encounters, though, is a security guard played by Walter Dalton, who seems to be the only character in the film who will help Wendy, though there are snippets of helpful dialogue from Patton’s mechanic. Dalton’s character is a wonderful, warm man, whom we get a sense of through his conversations with Wendy, which also reveal a little about the town.
Reichardt observes the challenges facing many, not just the titular Wendy, but also some of the other characters she encounters, some fleetingly, who are struggling to make their way through life.
It’s an achingly downbeat yet at the same time beautiful character study that has plenty to say about the working classes, and those who are unable to find a job, despite its apparently slender and simple plot. I was on edge and unnerved throughout, which is testament to the atmosphere Reichardt and her crew create through the cinematography and soundscape.
In closing, I found Wendy and Lucy to be a gripping and heartbreaking character study of a woman struggling to make her way in life, who loses her best friend and goes on a journey to find her.
It builds to a finale tinged with sadness and just a bit of hope, though that was probably just wishful thinking from me as it’s mostly devastating. It’s an excellent drama, which felt like a thriller at times to me because of the way the visuals and sounds are used to unsettling effect, and the anxiety that surrounds the lead character and her desperation. As Reichardt said in an interview for Wendy, there is “not a lot of room for mistakes” – she has to make her money count. The film was released at the height of the ‘Great Recession’ in the US, and Wendy’s plight, and that of some of the other characters featured, likely resonated with many at the time.
The rich dialogue does as much work as the visuals, providing a real sense of Wendy, and some of the characters she encounters, as well as the town she finds herself in; all of which reveal quite a bit about those who struggle, and towns that have been left behind.
Film: 
Wendy and Lucy is released on Region A, B and C Blu-ray by Second Run on 6th October 2025. The transfer is very good, very natural with a strong amount of detail and great colour scheme. There’s a large amount of natural grain, particularly in the night sequences. Overall, I was very pleased with the transfer and had no issues with the sound quality either.
Special features:
Presented from a 2K master approved by director Kelly Reichardt
Wendy and Lucy: An appreciation – Filmmaker Andrea Luka Zimmerman and writer So Mayer discuss the film
Original theatrical trailer
A 12-page booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar and critic Elena Gorfinkel
The appreciation by Andrea Luka Zimmerman, who has been given the Second Run treatment herself with the label releasing a two-disc Blu-ray set of selected works by the filmmaker called Fugitive Images, and writer So Mayer is marvellous. It’s an informative and entertaining conversation that touches on the social background to the film, touches on some of the scenes and gives a great explanation of why Reichardt is such an important director. Their discussion of the soundscape is a particular highlight.
The 90-second trailer concludes the on-disc package.
The booklet features a fabulous essay by film scholar and critic Elena Gorfinkel. She covers the plot, provides analysis to key sequences including the finale, and gives some wonderful background to the film and its story. It’s excellent.
It’s a slender package of extras, totalling just 36 minutes, but the appreciation is first class, as is the booklet essay, both of which enhance the viewing experience.
For their Blu-ray release of Wendy and Lucy, Second Run have provided a fabulous natural presentation, sourced from a 2K master approved by director Kelly Reichardt, and included two rewarding extras – one on disc and one in the booklet – that provide rich and insightful analysis and background to a special film from one of the best directors working in America today.
Disc/Package: 