For nearly thirty years now, American filmmaker Kelly Reichardt has been building an eminently personal filmography. Like its discreet but brilliant actress, each new work has the effect of having been filmed with great care after a long reflection: Wendy and Lucyon the odyssey of a poor young woman and her dog, Meek’s Cutoffon the balance of power between men and women within a convoy of settlers, or even Certain Women, about the crossed destinies of four women of different ages and backgrounds, are excellent examples. The is also his recent Show-Uppresented in official competition at Cannes, and where Michelle Williams shines.
For the record, the star of The Fabelmans (The Fabelmans) was already the headliner of the three other films mentioned.
“Since then, Michelle has been part of my life, even if it happens that a lot of time goes by without seeing each other,” says the director of First Cow during a videoconference interview.
“Our latest collaboration [Certain Women, en 2016] went back a few years, without it being a conscious decision on her side or mine: she is very busy, and I conceive my projects very slowly. But anyway, one day, I saw her on TV in the series Fosse/Verdon [où elle incarne l’actrice et danseuse Gwen Verdon face à Sam Rockwell en chorégraphe et metteur en scène Bob Fosse] and I was blown away. »
To pursue Kelly Reichardt, it was like “rediscovering” the one who had been his favorite actress since Wendy and Lucyin 2008.
“She accomplishes things in this series, in this role… Her physicality… Tiny things: her hands… She reveals a facet of her talent – which I knew was immense – that I did not suspect. »
Hence this desire for a new collaboration sooner rather than later. At the same time, Kelly Reichardt and her usual writing partner, Jon Raymond, were considering the main lines of what was to become Show-Up.
Lizzy was born while we were writing the story. It was at first difficult to pin down; she was changing a lot. It slowly took shape…
Identify the heroine
Set in Portland, like the majority of the director’s films, Showing Up features a sculptor, Lizzy, who is preparing an exhibition that may be decisive for her artistic future. As the fateful date approaches, pitfalls and distractions accumulate: her owner is slow to reinstall the hot water, her cat brings her an injured pigeon that she finds herself caring for, her brother threatens to sink into the a psychosis in front of a mother in full denial…
“Lizzy was born while we were writing history. It was at first difficult to pin down; she was changing a lot. It slowly took shape…”
As she speaks, Kelly Reichardt appears to be sculpting the figure in the air with her hands, much like Lizzy molding her clay into amazing—and moving—characters.
“What helped Jon and me was when I came across a photo of sculptor Lee Bontecou [1931-2022] at work. And I was like, “Oh, that’s perfect!” because there was plenty of visual material about her, and Michelle looks just like her. »
Kelly Reichardt explains in the same breath how much the collaborative dimension is, according to her, essential in the design of a character: she has her own vision, that of her friend and co-writer comes to complete or confront, before finally, that of the interpreter comes confirm this and deny that.
The result is another of these finely observed portraits of which the filmmaker has the secret, about a woman living a pivotal moment in her life.
Sometimes I don’t feel connected to certain characters, and Lizzy is Lizzy: she makes certain decisions that I would absolutely not make… But I understand the anxiety she feels during this specific period. And I also understand the difference between creating for yourself in your studio, and creating with a view to exhibiting your work for all to see; what anxiety that causes.
creative angst
Interestingly, Lizzy is an artist, therefore a creator, like the filmmaker. From then on, did Kelly Reichardt project herself more into this character than into the previous ones to have populated her cinematographic universe?
“I sometimes don’t feel connected to certain characters, and Lizzy is Lizzy: she makes certain decisions that I would absolutely not make… But I understand the anxiety she feels during this particular period. And I also understand the difference between creating for yourself in your studio, and creating with a view to exhibiting your work for all to see; what anxiety that causes. »
As is often the case with Kelly Reichardt, the story consists of an accumulation of little things, of quasi “non-events” which are nonetheless. In Show-Up, one of these seemingly harmless but crucial episodes occurs when Lizzy, after having entrusted the firing of her sculptures to an employee of the local artists’ center, notices that one of them has been a little too cooked. While the employee not only minimizes the damage but argues that in art, imperfections raise the level of interest, Lizzy looks incredulous, then devastated.
His face is then an open book: here is his entire exhibition compromised. Here again, one cannot help wondering whether, behind this passage, the filmmaker is hiding. When asked, Kelly Reichardt bursts out laughing.
“You always have to adjust, because a film, a work is a living entity that will take a form that does not necessarily correspond to what was planned. There are plenty of unforeseen events, imponderables… Sometimes I come home after a day of filming and tell myself that it went well. But immediately, I wonder: “What if I had done this instead?” I sleep on this thought. You know ? “I could have, I should have…” That’s also why I can’t see my films once they’re finished. »
Delicate and beautiful
In the case of Lizzy, during the scene in question, it is her entire future as an artist, even her entire existence, of which she seems to foresee the annihilation. Sure, she’s okay with it, but this short passage shows—literally, thanks to the expressiveness of Michelle Williams—how involved Lizzy is in her art; how much she lives for her art. Penniless, she has no lover or lover, friend or friend: she has her clay and her ginger cat. On this, Kelly Reichardt does not join her character in any way.
“When you work with the right people, with people who are good, that helps immensely. You feel…supported. I surround myself with talented and passionate people who, like me, invest themselves body and soul. »
However, precisely, as she creates alone and as setbacks multiply, Lizzy opens up almost in spite of herself to the world. This world for whom, after all, she intends her exhibition. It’s basically the plot of the film, and it may not seem like much, but like every time with Kelly Reichardt, it’s huge. And it’s beautiful. As beautiful as those delicate sculptures that Lizzy creates.
The film Show-Up hits theaters in original version and original version, s.-tf on April 14.