This kind of contemplation is stimulated by Reichardt's most recent book in part because it makes art the focus. The protagonist of the film Showing Up, Michelle Williams, is a ceramicist who is one week away from exhibiting a collection of her humorous, textured figures in motion, which are actually the work of Cynthia Lahti from Portland, Oregon. The film purports to show her efforts to finish her unfinished pieces in time, but it may alternatively be read as the tale of an artist who is trying to make this week about everything else in her life rather than her work.
Jo (Hong Chau), a friend and fellow artist, who has two exhibitions this week but isn't a stressed-out mess, makes her envious. She is also upset with Jo, the person she rents from, for taking so long to fix her water heater. Lizzy tells anybody who will listen that she has to take a shower. She discovers reasons to be either worried about or at odds with each member of her family: Sean (John Magaro), her brother, is taking his eccentricity to worryingly high levels; Jean (Maryann Plunkett), her mother and boss at the Oregon college of Art and Craft, is too critical; Bill (Judd Hirsch), her father, is being taken advantage of by freeloading lodgers.
This set up is humorous because Showing Up frequently has the feel of a light comedy. Even though the movie never goes over the top, there are times when it subtly tries to make you laugh. For example, when Lizzy visits her father's house, Reichardt makes sure to keep one too-comfortable visitor's bare feet in frame throughout an edit. The film is genuinely interested in investigating Lizzy's life, relationships, and creative process, as well as many other things that cross her path. However, it in no way portrays Lizzy's challenges as absurd. Most striking is how it manages to be "about" all of those interests.
Watching Showing Up, among other things, makes it simple to comprehend why creating and exhibiting art can be so painful. By literalizing the phrase "to put oneself out there," Reichardt makes the making of art on any scale seem like a heroic act of bravery. Even though it might be a less dangerous endeavor, criticism can and should aim for a comparable sharing of viewpoints. With any luck, someone can find their perspective on this film modified by viewing it through a fresh set of eyes, much as the gaze of this movie's camera deepens one's appreciation for the artistic process.