Creativity comes in fits and starts, but stagnation can often feel like death to someone whose livelihood survives on their art output. For some, art pays the bills, and when you’re not creating, it means the difference between heat in your house and eating ramen for dinner for the sixth night in a row. In A24‘s Showing Up trailer, Lizzy (Michelle Williams) is a sculptor preparing to open her new show, but she’ll have to manage her creative life and daily drama first.
Kelly Reichardt (First Cow, Certain Women) directs Showing Up from a script she co-wrote with Jonathan Raymond. The film presents a funny portrait of art and craft, with Lizzy’s family and friends adding to her stress, challenging her patience, and questioning every move she makes. Joining Williams for Reichardt’s dramatic comedy are Hong Chau (Watchmen, Downsizing), Andre Benjamin (Idlewood, Four Brothers, Revolver), Maryann Plunkett (Little Women, The Squid and the Whale), John Magaro (First Cow, Overlord, The Big Short), James Le Gros (Drugstore Cowboy, Certain Women), and Judd Hirsch (Independence Day, Ordinary People, Taxi).
Reichardt’s latest meditation on the human condition focuses on art and the people who torture themselves to add beauty to our everyday lives. As Lizzy prepares for what she views as a life-altering exhibition, she realizes that the people closest to her are as self-absorbed as she is, offering little comfort or reassurance. In addition to stressing about her show, creature comforts in Lizzy’s life are on the fritz, like her heating unit and ability to enjoy running water. Her neighbors and friends are of little help as they are busy toiling away on their own projects.
Lizzy’s situation changes when she befriends a wounded bird, forcing her to think outside herself and find inspiration in an unlikely muse. It’s a quirky twist in the story, but Reichardt’s is already giving me arthouse vibes, so we’ll roll with it.
What do you think of A24’s Showing Up trailer? Is Williams’ Lizzy about to teach us a valuable lesson about creativity and venturing outside your comfort zone? Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments below.