Showing Up, which was co-written and directed by Kelly Reichardt and stars Michelle Williams, ticks all the boxes for films I look for. But I hesitate to recommend it because it’s the kind of film you will either love or hate with no gray in between.
Showing Up is about artists and the creation of art. It’s low on action and high on watching artists work, often with no dialog.
Lizzy (Michelle Williams) has a show coming up for her small ceramic sculptures. She isn’t finished and her pieces still need to be fired. She creates dynamic images of women in various poses. They are rough and lumpy but almost alive.
Jo (Hong Chau), Lizzy’s landlord, is a string artist and also has a show coming up. Lizzy has no hot water and Jo is very slow about getting things fixed. When Lizzy’s cat injures a pigeon, Jo finds the injured bird and wants to save it. She gets Lizzy involved in healing this pigeon, which symbolizes Lizzy’s own progress through putting up her show and her own healing.

Lizzy is a frumpy, depressed looking woman. She frowns a lot. Yet she is the one who visits and cares about her mentally ill brother (John Magaro), her retired potter of a father (Judd Hirsch) and spurs her mother (Maryann Plunkett) to care. Lizzy’s mother runs the artists’ collective where everyone works on all kinds of art – painting, dance, string, clay, and more. These artists are quiet and intense and full of purpose. The final scene plays out to the sight of one artist tying knots in a large hanging macramé creation – that’s the kind of action you can expect from this film.
Kelly Reichardt seems to be saying there’s a message and meaning in the quiet, in the effort of creation. It’s worth witnessing. I was moved by Lizzy. You may be bored by her. That’s why I hesitate to urge you to watch this one.
If it sounds like you would like it, you can find it on Max or Paramount+. If you watch it, please share your reaction. The comments are open.
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