It's hard to ignore a film that feels like exposing a significant truth, and I feel driven to share my reaction regarding Kelly Reichardt’s newest comedy-drama. This slow-moving, self-contained, stripped-down, and often puzzling presentation recounts the experiences of a Portland ceramic artist—played by Michelle Williams—who is trying to finish her pieces for an upcoming exhibition while dealing with everyday problems at home and complicated family matters that aren't fully explained. However, very little actually occurs within this film, and it seems more like a display of the artwork than a story with a clear direction. This issue is worsened by the absence of any substantial background information or well-developed characters (I suppose that’s what they intend when they use the term “nuanced”). It becomes apparent just how much difficulty a movie like this faces when its most captivating and well-defined personalities are a housecat and an injured pigeon. The film's attempts at humor mostly miss the mark, often feeling incredibly bland—there's subtle, and then there’s simply unimportant. I am concerned to see something so underdeveloped gaining widespread praise and excessive recognition. This has been my experience with several of this filmmaker’s previous works, but “Showing Up” seems to be a particularly low point in her film career. Even the impressive cast—including Williams, Hong Chau, Judd Hirsch, Amanda Plummer, and Maryann Plunkett—the movie's only real strength—cannot rescue it from its fundamental flaws. Experimental filmmaking has its place, but unfocused, directionless, stream-of-consciousness work is a different matter altogether.

Source on TMDB