Rent Showing Up (2022)

An artist, a cat and a bird - Showing Up review by JR

Anyone who knows Kelly Reichardt's films will know that they are slow-burn, detailed, meticulous and low key but pack an emotional and artistic punch. There is also her tenderness and compassion for animals. This film's focus is especially narrow. Lizzie is an artist who makes expressive ceramic figures - unlike Lizzie herself who is not very expressive at all: she doesn't say much, doesn't smile much and dresses like an old woman in shades of beige. She works at an art school run by her mother and lives in a friend's flat with her cat, who one day injures a pigeon. Is the pigeon a reflection of Lizzie - too drab, too overlooked to care about? Lizzie's day to day life is explored, all of which sounds boring, but the film is unexpectedly funny in parts, although there is sadness (Lizzie's brother is mentally fragile), and it is profound and hopeful at the end. The scenes in the art school show the creative process in an art bubble away from the real world; the young students (somewhat improbably!)100% focused on their work.