In the film, Reichardt's also shows a presentation of a clear, consistent theme, using Wendy's predicament to examine an individual's relationship to rules and institutions. Each interaction in Wendy and Lucy is charged with this idea of characters' actions and their relationship to the regulation. A security guard pushes Wendy off a parking lot because he has to, even though there are no other cars to make room for, and an employee catches Wendy shoplifting and urges his manager to turn her over to the cops. It's clear from the resignation on his face that the manager doesn't want to call the police on Wendy, but his employee reminds him "we have a policy." The policy trumps doing the nice thing. In the world of Wendy and Lucy everyone must