'Showing Up' Is A Slog of An Exhibit To Sit Through
Sweet and grounded, Showing Up is a slice of life depicting the freedom and struggles of living in the art world. What the movie is trying to say escaped my mind. Is it that art brings people together hence the title Showing Up? The story might play better as a short instead of a feature-length film as the movie certainly performs like an extended short. During a Q&A with Director Kelly Reichardt I attended, she mentioned the film was originally a short, so the overlong style makes sense.
Most of the film plays itself through extended long takes, allowing the actors to breathe and the film to settle in. Lizzy (Michelle Williams) makes clay sculptures. Her molds consist of girls posing in unique positions. The sculptures are part of Lizzy. They exist to resemble not only beauty but some of the pain Lizzy feels.
To compliment Lizzy's work is director of photography Christopher Blauvelt, whose flat color pallet matches the film's white walls and naturalistic atmosphere. The film uses minimal lighting to capturing a Pseudo-documentary type of feel. It's very much cinema vérité where the film doesn't utilize a score except for its opening and closing. The camera is like a fly on the wall, mostly mounted on static shots, letting the audience soak in the scenery. The environment and characterizations of Showing Up is well grounded. There's no over-dramatization in the film. You won't find a crying scene or someone hooked on drugs. Instead, the movie focuses on common conversations and small everyday problems Lizzy juggles.
Michelle Williams is wonderful, as always. Her character is shy yet strict. There's a sadness in her. Living the art life can be difficult. There's no financial stability, while hope for a bright future seems unlikely. Through Michelle Williams' performance, we see a character who appears grouchy but is loving at the end of the day. Williams hardly smiles nor shows much joy. Lizzy may have mild depression, mostly from living in a small apartment with unavailable hot water until her friend Jo (Hong Chau) takes care of the bill. Jo, unlike Lizzy, appears content with her life. Jo's free-spiritedness annoys Lizzy but helps keep everyone's spirits up.
Lizzy's family life is complicated. Her parents are divorced, and her brother Sean (John Magaro) is in a worse situation than hers. The film hints that Sean is divorced like his parents are. When visiting Sean, he appears disheveled and defeated. The neighbors cut his cable, forcing Sean to only watch one channel. Sean's a man who doesn't seem to have his life all together where he's suffering from unemployment and severe sadness. In one of the film's funnier, if not disturbing moments, Sean digs a hold in the ground, not to bury himself but get into earth artwork. To Sean, "Art is the earth talking, poetry is the voice of the earth." Digging the whole is Sean burying the happiness he once felt.
The one member who gives Lizzy the most love and attention is her father, Bill, played by the still very much alive Judd Hirsch. Judd's been playing dads for years, dating back to Independence Day. Once more, Judd is the loving father who is always there for his child. Bill is very much a free spirit where he allows strangers to stay in his house who come from Canada. Bill used to be a sculptor himself, where he made pots. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree as Lizzy picks up her father's talent and applies it to her life.
The movie ticks at a slow pace where nothing happens. The slow burn is appropriate for the narrative, yet the story doesn't go very far for the length it's given. Lizzy's life is a slow one with little drama. Limiting her life to strictly artwork alone is methodical, if not dull, to watch. Yet, the movie isn't meant to be fast-paced or loaded with drama. It could benefit from a smaller length with about twenty minutes cut from it, as the narrative is slow enough as it is. Showing Up is geared towards those very in tune with the arts. They may find more to the narrative than I did.
The film is about Lizzy learning to be a nicer person. Lizzy can be short with people. She walks around with a cloud of gloom that isn't very welcoming. By the film's end, Lizzy mends her tension with Jo. But it's hardly a character arc that's interesting to watch since Lizzy barely does anything throughout the film. There's a freedom to being an artist represented in the movie. You can do what you want and not be a robot to the corporate wage. That type of freedom Lizzy enjoys despite her cloudy demeanor. Still, there's little beyond the clouds to render a watchable experience.
As mentioned from the beginning, Showing Up could benefit from a shorter length as the movie's simplicity becomes its detriment. What is the movie trying to say beyond "art makes us feel free"? If someone has an answer, you're welcome to tell me. I'm usually a fan of slower-moving cinema, but this one didn't do it for me. It has little to say or show beyond its artwork to warrant a feature-length. There's possibly a lesson I'm missing, yet I've seen the film twice and returned with the same feeling both times around. Watching a character mope around for almost two hours isn't engaging cinema. Slow cinema can be interesting, or it could be tiring to watch.
Elongated shots of people making pottery all day almost put me to sleep twice during both of my viewings. The picture can feel aimless as it feels partially improvised. The main event Showing Up builds up to is Lizzy's exhibit. As long as everyone shows up, Lizzy is content. That's not much to go on for a feature narrative. I get the film is trying to avoid conventional drama, but it could have used something to spice things up. Perhaps this film can be left in the gallery instead of on the big screen.
