Showing Up

Lizzy (Michelle Williams), a sculptor preparing to open a new show, is trying to hold things together. Her hot water heater is busted, her brother might be going off the rails, her divorced parents are exasperating, and her neighbor and landlord Jo (Hong Chau) is frustratingly aloof. When she suddenly becomes the caregiver of an injured pigeon, her nerves begin to fray. As her show looms, Lizzy wonders whether she can show up for others while also showing up for herself.

Out of pressurized moments of absurdity and inspiration emerges the beautiful, wondrously jagged shape of a person’s life. Filmmaker Kelly Reichardt masterfully wields a quietly rising tension to carve a profound, comedic, gorgeously layered picture of a life spent art-making. Bolstered by an understated, masterful performance by Williams and Reichardt’s keen eye for detail, Showing Up is a quiet tour-de-force.