Showing Up
Showing Up, the latest film written and directed by Kelly Reichardt, is an apt film to view at the beginning of the Perth Festival at the Somerville outdoor cinema.
It deals with ordinary people who create art and the everyday mundanity of their lifestyles and necessary collaborations to get their art to an audience.
Lizzy, portrayed with grounded realism by Michelle Williams, sculpts ceramic figurines to express herself just as her father (played adeptly by Judd Hirsch) uses more functional pottery to put his voice out into the world.
Her brother, described by their mother (a quiet performance by Maryann Plunkett) as a genius, is the more stereotyped artistic figure of the family but his moodiness and mental health fluctuations hinder him from creating anything suitable for public exhibition.
There is a slow subtlety in the filming of Showing Up.
The cosy Oregon College of Art and Craft where much of it is set features many background characters constantly working at their art - the enthusiastic kiln operator (André Benjamin); Lizzy’s landlady and fellow creative, Jo (Hong Chau); the wine-and-cheese girl at the exhibition; the divorced couple (Lizzy’s parents) having to run into each other constantly at the local gallery where their daughter and friends always exhibit.
The side story that becomes more of the focus, is the competitive, prickly relationship between Lizzy and Jo.
In a more stereotyped script, their mild clashes over the hot water system, their combined exhibition opening deadlines and a conflict with an injured pigeon (attacked by Lizzy’s cat) would have led to raging yelling matches.
We are so programmed by current cinema for big, dramatic moments that my thoughts were mirrored by a gallery attendant who notices Lizzy’s unkempt brother (John Magaro) has showed up for her opening night and says, “I hope he doesn’t break anything!”
Thankfully, this more realistically paced script gives us those same emotions in more subtle ways.
Sondheim states that “the art of making art, is putting it together” so perhaps this film’s title is telling us that the most important quality in an artist is not wild, manic moods, but a sense of an everyday, work ethic - showing up to do the work.
I would have liked to see more of Amanda Plummer, in a too-small role as an eccentric guest free-loading with Lizzy’s father.
Perhaps she is there to remind us that as an artist, once at the top of her game (an Oscar nomination for “The Fisher King”) she is still “showing up” by taking a small role in a film that perhaps she could have carried, had it been made 30 years ago.
If you (or friends) work with clay, fabric, dance or in art education, you will recognise the archetypal creative characters this film captures in its documentary styled pace.
Showing Up may not be to everyone’s cinematic tastes – Michelle Williams is never showy or theatrical in any way.
It’s a tribute to creative artists who are compelled to make art that brightens our lives.
Showing Up screens until Sunday 10 December at the Somerville open air cinema at UWA, with new films starting every Monday night, right through to 10 March 2024.
See them before, during and after the Perth Festival and vote for your favourite.
Jane Keehn
Screening information and Perth Festival programme - https://www.perthfestival.com.au
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