November 25, 2023
FILM: SHOWING UP
DIRECTED BY: KELLY REICHARDT
STARRING: MICHELLE WILLIAMS, HONG CHAU, ANDRE 3000
RATING: 3 ½ out 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Quiet character studies often fly under the radar and never get the attention they truly deserve. Writer/Director Kelly Reichardt’s film, Showing Up, which was released earlier this year, is one of those stories. It’s a very understated exploration of a sculptor named Lizzy, played by Michelle Williams, who lives in a world of low-key artists that occasionally get their due with a gallery show but are often struggling financially and emotionally. Lizzy works at what I can only describe as a school for adult artists who have a need to express themselves in whatever art form that calls to them. Lizzy’s work is mostly of women in various modest poses looking as if they need to break out of their own shells.
Lizzy is as fascinating a character as her sculptures are. She lives in an apartment where her landlord is a fellow more successful artist named Jo. She’s played by Hong Chau (The Whale, Downsizing) who captures her free spirit, “I’ll get to it” attitude. This is a problem for Lizzy as she has no hot water and is left to take care of Jo’s wounded bird the day she decides to quietly work from home. Lizzy is a bit of a pushover but she shows she cares, albeit reluctantly. She has a fractured family including her employer mother (Maryann Plunkett), her self-assured if distant artist father (Judd Hirsch), and a psychologically disturbed brother (John Magaro.) They are each quirky in their own ways and aren’t all together helpful with Lizzy’s various struggles.
Showing Up is a film that builds. At first it’s hard to make out Lizzy’s inner and outer worlds. There are scenes in which Reichardt just lets the camera watch Lizzy at work. As broken as she seems though she possesses a tough spirit that lives under her put-upon exterior. Of course, so much of this is due to the great Michelle Williams’s performance. She’s downtrodden but fierce. She’s sad but determined. The longer we spend with her, the more we care about her and want her to succeed.
Reichardt also infuses the film with some very subtle humor that makes us empathize with Lizzy and some of the other characters in her world. There’s a warmth to the film and a sense of humanity that makes us feel we are a part of Lizzy’s family and community. Thanks also to the production design everything about the film feels lived in and true to what we’d expect of this modest setting.
The wounded bird may be symbolic of Lizzy who perhaps hasn’t been able to fly with her own wings in quite some time, if not forever. The climax of the film features a reckoning for the bird as well as Lizzy. Can they ever be free or will they remain stuck in a shoebox of a community?
The rest of the cast is wonderful. Hong Chau as Jo stands in contrast to Williams’s Lizzy. She’s always on the go and yet has a sweet disposition. Judd Hirsch is great as Lizzy’s dad. He has an energy and sprightly personality that makes him appear much younger than his eight-something years. John Magaro, who played such a vulnerable yet loving husband in this year’s Past Lives, couldn’t have created a more different character. He’s in his own inner world which is represented through harsher physical movements and a scraggily, unkempt appearance.
Ultimately, it’s a well-designed community of people that Reichardt and Williams create here. I wanted to spend more time with them as the credits rolled.
Showing Up is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
FILM: SHOWING UP
DIRECTED BY: KELLY REICHARDT
STARRING: MICHELLE WILLIAMS, HONG CHAU, ANDRE 3000
RATING: 3 ½ out 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Quiet character studies often fly under the radar and never get the attention they truly deserve. Writer/Director Kelly Reichardt’s film, Showing Up, which was released earlier this year, is one of those stories. It’s a very understated exploration of a sculptor named Lizzy, played by Michelle Williams, who lives in a world of low-key artists that occasionally get their due with a gallery show but are often struggling financially and emotionally. Lizzy works at what I can only describe as a school for adult artists who have a need to express themselves in whatever art form that calls to them. Lizzy’s work is mostly of women in various modest poses looking as if they need to break out of their own shells.
Lizzy is as fascinating a character as her sculptures are. She lives in an apartment where her landlord is a fellow more successful artist named Jo. She’s played by Hong Chau (The Whale, Downsizing) who captures her free spirit, “I’ll get to it” attitude. This is a problem for Lizzy as she has no hot water and is left to take care of Jo’s wounded bird the day she decides to quietly work from home. Lizzy is a bit of a pushover but she shows she cares, albeit reluctantly. She has a fractured family including her employer mother (Maryann Plunkett), her self-assured if distant artist father (Judd Hirsch), and a psychologically disturbed brother (John Magaro.) They are each quirky in their own ways and aren’t all together helpful with Lizzy’s various struggles.
Showing Up is a film that builds. At first it’s hard to make out Lizzy’s inner and outer worlds. There are scenes in which Reichardt just lets the camera watch Lizzy at work. As broken as she seems though she possesses a tough spirit that lives under her put-upon exterior. Of course, so much of this is due to the great Michelle Williams’s performance. She’s downtrodden but fierce. She’s sad but determined. The longer we spend with her, the more we care about her and want her to succeed.
Reichardt also infuses the film with some very subtle humor that makes us empathize with Lizzy and some of the other characters in her world. There’s a warmth to the film and a sense of humanity that makes us feel we are a part of Lizzy’s family and community. Thanks also to the production design everything about the film feels lived in and true to what we’d expect of this modest setting.
The wounded bird may be symbolic of Lizzy who perhaps hasn’t been able to fly with her own wings in quite some time, if not forever. The climax of the film features a reckoning for the bird as well as Lizzy. Can they ever be free or will they remain stuck in a shoebox of a community?
The rest of the cast is wonderful. Hong Chau as Jo stands in contrast to Williams’s Lizzy. She’s always on the go and yet has a sweet disposition. Judd Hirsch is great as Lizzy’s dad. He has an energy and sprightly personality that makes him appear much younger than his eight-something years. John Magaro, who played such a vulnerable yet loving husband in this year’s Past Lives, couldn’t have created a more different character. He’s in his own inner world which is represented through harsher physical movements and a scraggily, unkempt appearance.
Ultimately, it’s a well-designed community of people that Reichardt and Williams create here. I wanted to spend more time with them as the credits rolled.
Showing Up is available to stream on Amazon Prime.