I imagine this is how it feels to visit Portland, Oregon as an outsider. Obtuse, pretentious and artfully impenetrable, Showing Up feels like Napoleon Dynamite at its most deadpan. It's not tickling me, but I imagine there will be lots of hidden meaning between the lines. It feels like a movie that will accrue a resilient cult fanbase that latches to this and references lines in their friend groups while sharing a collective giggle. I guess I'll have to accept that I'm one of the outsiders who doesn't "get' it, but I'm quite ok with that. Not for me, but I can see that it will be a hit with a certain niche collective. Give it a shot, you might be in the in crowd.
You have to listen to what's not being said... You hear that?
I don't think so.
This film talking to me.
Showing Up is like a piece in a student art show: static and full of symbolism that you don't care enough about to figure out.
That said, Michelle Williams understood the assignment on every level.
Michelle Williams is stellar in her understated role. That said, this movie - not unlike Black Bear or The French Dispatch - did not seem to be accessible to me. I felt like I was at a museum where the art was beyond my comprenship. While the movie was not about the actual art of making sculptures, I felt like I needed to be a sculptor to "get" the movie.
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As much as I want to, I just don't "get" Kelly Reichardt.
On paper this film has everything I want. A story small in scope basically about nothing, amazing actors with so much room to operate and turn in great performances, saying more with less, wonky stuff, etc etc etc.
Most of her stuff just goes over my head. First Cow rocked and I really like Night Moves, though!
Review by BronsonBlockedParent2024-01-14T08:08:11Z— updated 2024-02-02T07:17:21Z
Okay, Showing Up is not a comedy, I repeat, not a comedy. This is a slow, quiet, indie drama.
I say that, however this is borderline pretentious art film.
I'm fighting the urge to be more harsh here, but the movie does nothing, goes nowhere, and ends with a feeling of "oh, is that it?"
What is there to like? Well, if you like A24, you probably know what to expect from an indie drama about artists. If that's the case, you shouldn't be surprised, but you'll likely be disappointed.
We follow Lizzy, a sculptor, as she prepares for her art show. We get to meet her fellow artists, and her family. Trouble is, there's no story beyond that. The dialog adds nothing. People just show up and move around, but never really do anything. See, I never understand this about art films: you make colorful characters, flesh them out, yet fail to do anything with them.
There is also a parallel story going on with an injured pigeon. Is it metaphor? Maybe, maybe not. Yet another problem with art films: meaningful, meaningless? You can get away with anything if you never commit to intentional art.
All that being said, the movie is not bad, per se. It's worth a watch. The highlight for me was Lauren Lakis; she's only in three scenes, but wow, you give me a svelte, bespectacled, brunette, art chick, and you have my attention. I'd much rather watch a spin-off movie about her - only with an actual plot.