SHOWING UP – A Review by Jenn Rohm
Kelly Reichardt and co-writer Jonathan Raymond had a plan for a movie and while researching they found it wasn’t the movie they wanted to write and how their own personal lives were impacting their work. Together they have brought us Showing Up.
Lizzy (Michelle Williams) is in the last days before her sculpture exhibit debuts. She is juggling life with no hot water, divorced parents that act like children, and a brother who has lost touch with reality. While working to be there for everyone else, without letting them in, she holds on to the hope that they will come to her showing.
Michelle Williams was Isabel Andersen in After the Wedding and Hong Chau was Liz in The Whale. Both women have created emotional responses from me in these prior projects. I am aware of the talent they and others in the film possess. Sadly, this film did not provide them with an outlet to use their talent to its full potential.
The opening credits run around 4 minutes and the background is watercolor sketches. That was just the first of many times I checked to see how much time had passed. The movie did not pull me in, and I had to force myself multiple times to pay attention to get through it. There are long moments of Lizzy sculpting with only a cooing dove as the only sound. Then there are moments at her work at an art school that attempts to show the very free-flow lifestyle around her. While those moments did tend to move at a better pace, they were not enough to save this for me.
This is the first film I can remember watching where the phrase “talk at” describes how lines were delivered. I did not feel any connection or relationships between the actors, nor did I see reactions to lines being delivered.
All of that said I rate this movie 1 star.
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Written By: Jon Raymond & Kelly Reichardt
Cast: Michelle Williams, Hong Chau, Maryann Plunkett, John Magaro, André Benjamin, James Le Gros, and Judd Hirsch
MPAA Rating: R for brief graphic nudity
Genres: Comedy, Drama
Selig Rating: 1 star
Runtime: 107 m
Release Date: 04/21/2023
Movie Site: Showing Up Official Website
Trailer: Showing Up Official Trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well there was nothing else…
1 Star – Total waste of time.
