Showing Up (film)

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Showing Up
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKelly Reichardt
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyChristopher Blauvelt
Edited byKelly Reichardt
Music byEthan Rose
Production
company
FilmScience
Distributed byA24
Release dates
  • May 27, 2022 (2022-05-27) (Cannes)
  • April 7, 2023 (2023-04-07) (United States)
Running time
108 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.2 million[2][3]

Showing Up is a 2022 American comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Kelly Reichardt, in her fourth collaboration with actress Michelle Williams. The film follows a sculptor managing the competing attentions of her art, job, family, and friendships.

Showing Up premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2022, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or.[4] The film was released theatrically in the United States by A24 on April 7, 2023.[5] It received largely positive reviews, with particular praise for Williams' performance and Reichardt's direction. It was also named one of the top 10 independent films of 2023 by the National Board of Review.[6] In 2024, the film received the Robert Altman Award at the 39th Independent Spirit Awards.

Plot[edit]

Lizzy is a sculptor and arts administrator assistant for her mother at her alma mater, the Oregon College of Art and Craft. She is also working on a showing of her work, clay sculptures of women in joyful or anguished movement.

Lizzy's landlord and neighbor Jo, a rival artist, frequently spars with her. For days, Lizzy is continuously reminding Jo to fix Lizzy's hot water heater, but Jo prioritizes everything else, like hanging a tire swing in the backyard and her two upcoming shows. To have enough time to finish her sculptures, Lizzy takes Tuesday off from work. In the middle of the night, Lizzy's cat maims a pigeon that flew into the house. Lizzy throws the pigeon outside, but Jo discovers and rescues it the next morning, before dumping the work of taking care of it on Lizzy. Lizzy is at first actively resentful before she begins to bond with the bird. She ends up taking it to the vet, which costs her $150. When Jo finally comes for the bird, Lizzy lets her know it distracted her and kept her from her glazing.

Lizzy visits her father at home. She does not trust the hippies who have invited themselves to stay with him, who are more grifters than friends. Lizzy discovers that he has not had contact with her brother Sean for six months. Concerned, Lizzy goes to see Sean. He has become reclusive, and is delusional, convinced that his neighbors are behind his TV antenna not working. Contacting their mother about it, Lizzy believes her brother needs more than just emotional help, but is told he is simply a misunderstood genius.

The weekend right before her show, Lizzy's final piece burns on one side in the kiln. Visiting Sean, he is digging a massive pit in his backyard and insists he is hearing voices, which Lizzy and others choose not to hear. She convinces her mother to come watch him. Lizzy's mother puts Sean to sleep after he suffers the mental episode. Although it was arranged that he would come to the show, when she arrives he is not there. Lizzy is nervous, hearing that he has wandered off alone.

At Lizzy's show, her family shows up, even Sean, having taken the bus. Jo comes and brings the pigeon. It has its bandages removed by two unsupervised girls. Everyone watches as Sean releases the bird and it flies away. Jo and Lizzy go looking for it, but eventually accept it was ready to fly.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

On January 26, 2021, it was announced that Michelle Williams would star in Showing Up, in her fourth collaboration with writer-director Kelly Reichardt after Wendy and Lucy, Meek's Cutoff, and Certain Women.[8] In June 2021, Hong Chau, Judd Hirsch, Maryann Plunkett, John Magaro, André Benjamin, Heather Lawless, Amanda Plummer, Larry Fessenden, and James Le Gros joined the cast.[9] Principal photography began on June 7, 2021, and concluded on July 15, 2021, in Portland, Oregon.[10][11][12] Portland-based artist, Cynthia Lahti, created Lizzy's sculptures and drawings which feature prominently throughout the film.[13]

The project was originally conceived as a biopic of Canadian artist Emily Carr and the 10 years she spent as a landlord hoping it would offer her more free time to work on her art, but instead forced her to paint less.[14] Reichardt said the film officially pivoted away from Carr when she first embarked to Canada to research for the film and "the passport guy asked us what we were doing, and we said, 'We're coming to research a painter named Emily Carr.' And he goes, 'Oh yeah. We learned about her.' That took the wind out of our sails, that she was so famous."[14]

Reception[edit]

Critical response[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 154 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "A deceptively simple drama about the artist's life, Showing Up reunites Kelly Reichardt and Michelle Williams to absorbing effect."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 85 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[16]

Showing Up was ranked tenth on Cahiers du Cinéma's top 10 films of 2023 list, tied with A Prince.[17]

Accolades[edit]

Awards and nominations for Showing Up
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival May 17–28, 2022 Palme d'Or Kelly Reichardt Nominated [4]
Chlotrudis Awards March 17, 2024 Best Performance in a Supporting Role Hong Chau Nominated [18]
Columbus Film Critics Association January 4, 2024 Best Overlooked Film Showing Up Runner-up [19]
Gotham Awards November 27, 2023 Best Feature Nominated [20]
Lead Performance Michelle Williams Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards February 25, 2024 Robert Altman Award Kelly Reichardt, Gayle Keller & Ensemble Cast[a] Won [21]
International Cinephile Society February 12, 2023 Best Picture Showing Up 19th place [22]
Best Supporting Actress Hong Chau Nominated
National Board of Review December 6, 2023 Top 10 Independent Films Showing Up Won[b] [23]
Seattle Film Critics Society January 8, 2024 Pacific Northwest Filmmaking Kelly Reichardt Won [24]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. Ensemble cast include: André Benjamin, Hong Chau, Judd Hirsch, Heather Lawless, James Le Gros, John Magaro, Matt Malloy, Amanda Plummer, Maryann Plunkett, Denzel Rodriguez, Michelle Williams.
  2. ^ This award does not have a single winner, but recognizes multiple films.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Showing Up". Cannes Film Festival. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  2. ^ "Showing Up (2023)". The Numbers. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  3. ^ "Showing Up (2023)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Turnquist, Kristi (April 18, 2022). "Portland-filmed Showing Up, starring Michelle Williams, to compete in 2022 Cannes Film Festival". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  5. ^ Fear, David (January 12, 2023). "The Most Anticipated Movies of 2023". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 22, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  6. ^ Lewis, Hilary (December 6, 2023). "National Board of Review Names 'Killers of the Flower Moon' Best Film of 2023". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Press Notes" (PDF). A24. pp. 15–20. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  8. ^ Kroll, Justin (January 26, 2021). "Michelle Williams And Kelly Reichardt Reunite On The A24 Film Showing Up". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 14, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  9. ^ Kroll, Justin (June 15, 2021). "Hong Chau, André Benjamin, Judd Hirsch, John Magaro, Others Join Michelle Williams In A24 & Kelly Reichardt's Showing Up". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  10. ^ "Film and TV Projects Going Into Production – Showing Up". Variety Insight. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  11. ^ Skinner, Tom (May 20, 2021). "Acclaimed Director Kelly Reichardt Is Shooting Her Next Film in Portland and Looking for Extras". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  12. ^ Kroll, Justin (June 15, 2021). "André 3000 (and his flute) spotted at Portland open mic night". NME. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  13. ^ Chen, Min (March 29, 2023). "Artist Cynthia Lahti Opens Up About Her Very 'Particular' Sculptures That Anchor the New Michelle Williams Film 'Showing Up'". Artnet News. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "A Need to Focus: Guy Maddin Interviews Kelly Reichardt About Showing Up". Filmmaker. March 16, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  15. ^ "Showing Up". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 24, 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  16. ^ "Showing Up". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  17. ^ Zilko, Christian (December 1, 2023). "Cahiers du Cinema Names Best Films of 2023, Including 'Anatomy of a Fall' and 'Close Your Eyes'". IndieWire. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  18. ^ Colford, Michael (February 7, 2024). "Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film Announces Nominations, Special Guest for 30th Year – Kore-eda Comes to Boston!". Chlotrudis Awards. Archived from the original on February 9, 2024. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
    Colford, Michael (March 22, 2024). "Film Society Spreads the Love, Kore-eda Feted at Chlotrudis Awards 30th Anniversary Weekend, Ceremony". Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films. Archived from the original on April 7, 2024. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  19. ^ Neglia, Matt (January 4, 2024). "The 2023 Columbus Film Critics Association (COFCA) Winners". Next Best Picture. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
    "Awards 2023". Columbus Film Critics Association. January 4, 2024. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  20. ^ Davis, Clayton; Lang, Brent (October 24, 2023). "Gotham Awards Nominations: 'All of Us Strangers' Leads With Four Nominations". Variety. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  21. ^ Lang, Brent; Moreau, Jordan (December 5, 2023). "Spirit Awards 2024 Nominations List: 'Past Lives,' 'May December,' 'American Fiction' Lead With 5 Noms Each". Variety. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  22. ^ Neglia, Matt (February 12, 2023). "The 2022 International Cinephile Society (ICS) Winners". Next Best Picture. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
    Anderson, Erik (February 12, 2023). "20th International Cinephile Society (ICS) awards: 'Trenque Lauquen' wins Best Picture in clean sweep; 'Pacifiction,' 'Aftersun' earn top prizes". AwardsWatch. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  23. ^ Lewis, Hilary (December 6, 2023). "National Board of Review Names 'Killers of the Flower Moon' Best Film of 2023". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  24. ^ Macdonald, Moira (January 8, 2024). "Seattle film critics name 'Past Lives' as 2023's best". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.

External links[edit]

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