At the intersection of technology and DIY indie spirit lies mumblecore, a brand of minimalist cinema that defined the early 2000s. Though many categorize it as a subgenre of independent cinema, mumblecore would be more accurately defined as a filmmaking mode. Its simplistic and naturalistic style allows young filmmakers to showcase their talent on a shoestring budget. Although the term is dismissed by its originators, the movement they created had an undeniable influence on the independent film landscape, launching Hollywood careers and introducing audiences to some of their favorite directors and actors.
The origins of mumblecore can be traced back to 2005 when Andrew Bujalski, Joe Swanberg, and Jay and Mark Duplass had films screened at the SXSW Film Festival. The term was coined in passing, but eventually spawned award-winning filmmakers, hit TV shows, and a horror subgenre called mumblegore. In the context of film history, mumblecore represents the effects of new digital camera technology readily available to consumers. As independent studios struggled to keep doors open, these young filmmakers crafted a filmmaking style based on naturalistic performances, embarrassing characters, and handheld camerawork.
|
Film Title |
Director |
Release Year |
|---|---|---|
|
Medicine for Melancholy |
Barry Jenkins |
2008 |
|
Daddy Longlegs |
Josh and Benny Safdie |
2009 |
|
Tiny Furniture |
Lena Dunham |
2010 |
|
Drinking Buddies |
Joe Swanberg |
2013 |
|
Frances Ha |
Noah Baumbach |
2012 |
|
Nights and Weekends |
Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig |
2008 |
|
Mutual Appreciation |
Andrew Bujalski |
2005 |
|
The Puffy Chair |
Jay and Mark Duplass |
2005 |
|
Funny Ha Ha |
Andrew Bujalski |
2002 |
9 Medicine for Melancholy (2008)
Directed by Barry Jenkins
Eight years before directing Moonlight, Barry Jenkins offered his interpretation of the mumblecore film with 2008’s Medicine for Melancholy. Jenkins utilizes conversational acting as a dialectic platform to discuss black issues that apply to the film’s setting of San Francisco. Centered around a couple after a one-night stand, Medicine for Melancholy aligns with mumblecore’s awkward characters and documentary-style camera, using the voices of Micah and Jo to ruminate on gentrification, assimilation, and acknowledging one’s blackness.
In classic mumblecore fashion, Medicine for Melancholy had its premiere at SXSW and earned a relatively successful box office return against its $15,000 budget. Although it took some time for Jenkins to settle into the filmmaker he is today, his 2008 debut demonstrated his unique ability to experiment with color. The film’s desaturated color grade almost represents the characters’ lackluster attempts to connect. As the only Black filmmaker on this list, Barry Jenkins’ Medicine for Melancholy also highlights the disparity of Black representation in the mumblecore space.
8 Daddy Longlegs (2009)
Directed by Josh and Benny Safdie
Coming up alongside Greta Gerwig in the Diane Fink School of Filmmaking, Josh and Benny Safdie are spiritual off-shoots of the original mumblecore squad. With their vérité-style camerawork and penchant for naturalistic acting, the Safdie Brothers fit perfectly within the modern indie filmmaking mode and their 2009 feature Daddy Longlegs shows an early interest in this world. Though they debuted a year earlier with The Pleasure of Being Robbed, their sophomore effort was the first and only time the brothers are credited as co-writers, directors, and editors together.
Daddy Longlegs, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and screened at Sundance, honed the Safdie Brothers’ unique independent production style to fruitful results. They would eventually perfect this style with 2017’s Good Time and 2019’s Uncut Gems, elevating their films with bigger stars and bigger budgets. Daddy Longlegs remains a definitive precursor to the Safdies’ later hits, focusing on an immature divorced father similarly to their portrayal of Connie or Howard. As filmmakers who stayed loyal to the mumblecore style, Josh and Benny Safdie’s place on this list is as deserved as Bujalski or Swanberg.
7 Tiny Furniture (2010)
Directed by Lena Dunham
Out of the films listed so far, 2010’s Tiny Furniture adheres the most to the definition of mumblecore. The film casts director Lena Dunham as an autobiographical version of herself alongside her real-life mother and sister, it features awkward characters in a coming-of-age setting, it premiered at the SXSW Film Festival, and it stays true to the DIY quality of Dunham’s early YouTube projects. Like the Safdie Brothers, the multi-talented star of Tiny Furniture also came up through the Diane Fink School of Filmmaking, denoting a cross-pollination of mumblecore among the New York creative associates.
Mumblecore certainly wouldn’t be what it was without the late entry of
Tiny Furniture
at the start of the new decade.
Tiny Furniture helped launch Dunham’s career into mainstream success with Golden Globe-winning performances in her hit HBO show Girls and multiple published books. Like the filmmakers listed so far, Dunham leveraged her mumblecore projects to land bigger projects down the road. Her rise to fame, however, has come with its pitfalls, as the multifaceted creator frequently runs into PR mix-ups regarding her insensitive public remarks. Mumblecore certainly wouldn’t be what it was without the late entry of Tiny Furniture at the start of the new decade.
6 Drinking Buddies (2013)
Directed by Joe Swanberg
Close
As the most recent film on the list, 2013’s Drinking Buddies represents a milestone for the original mumblecore group. Core member Joe Swanberg takes his improvisational directing style to new heights by employing a tandem of formidable actors to his mumblecore machine. Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, and Anna Kendrick star as a pair of co-workers at a brewery and their respective partners. In classic Swanberg fashion, their messy relationships tangle and intertwine into a painfully cringey dramedy. With Hollywood stars at the helm, the prolific film director takes mumblecore to heightened mainstream potential.
Arguably Swanberg’s most well-known piece of work, Drinking Buddies epitomizes the director’s dedication to mumblecore and the progression of the movement. Starting with his 2005 debut Kissing on the Mouth, which screened at the SXSW Film Festival, the self-involved director has pushed the limits of this filmmaking mode. This is felt most particularly in 2007’s Hannah Takes the Stairs, where the filmmaker tasks the crew and cast to stay in a house together while producing their film summer camp-style. With all of his ambitious creative endeavors, Drinking Buddies stands as the peak of Swanberg’s mumblecore contributions.
5 Frances Ha (2012)
Directed by Noah Baumbach
Starring and co-written by mumblecore member Greta Gerwig, 2012’s Frances Ha stands as the most arthouse rendition from the original core group. Deliberately inspired by the French New Wave and screwball comedy, the black-and-white film is artfully elevated compared to the original entries, yet remains discernably mumblecore. Gerwig’s portrayal of the titular character is both joyful and depressing, emphasizing the growing pains of late-20s adulthood. In collaboration with now-partner Noah Baumbach, Frances Ha stands as Gerwig’s strong influence on the writing process.
In contrast to the more rigid and drab characterizations of his earlier films, Frances Ha treads a new path for Baumbach. Equipped with Gerwig’s experience in the world of mumblecore, the filmmakers shot on a smaller budget, which allowed them to be more flexible with the production. Frances Ha exemplifies how the production style of mumblecore can expand a director’s creative toolbox beyond financial limitations. Frances Ha marks a sharp turn for Baumbach as he would go on to write and direct similarly toned films in The Meyerowitz Stories: New and Selected and Marriage Story.
4 Nights and Weekends (2008)
Directed by Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig
Similar to Frances Ha, 2008’s Nights and Weekends saw Greta Gerwig collaborating with another filmmaker. With Joe Swanberg as co-director, the two co-star as a couple going through a breakup, and Swanberg’s improvisational style heavily influences the film’s form and narrative structure. The characters’ awkward relationship, the film’s handheld digital camera, and the noted improvised acting are all classically mumblecore. Nights and Weekends highlights the feasibility of low-budget production as the film comes at the end of Swanberg’s four-movie run over three years.
This film also stands out as Gerwig’s first foray into the field of directing. Now known for her work on Lady Bird, Little Women, and Barbie, the actor-turned-director established her directing chops on early projects with Swanberg and Baumbach. As arguably the most successful member of the Diane Fink School of Filmmaking, Gerwig has grown immensely since her indie cinema days. Her participation in Nights and Weekends marks the Hollywood auteur’s bold entry into the filmmaking space.
3 Mutual Appreciation (2005)
Directed by Andrew Bujalski
As one of the three defining films screened at the 2005 SXSW Film Festival, Mutual Appreciation can be credited as one of the movies that helped start the mumblecore movement. Director Andrew Bujalski, who frequently shot on film instead of digital cameras, shoots black-and-white 16mm for this fraught character study of a wandering band-less musician. Mutual Appreciation displays a more composed cinematography when compared to its contemporaries. The characters are still messy and clumsy, but the film’s artifice remains constructed around them.
The defining feature which separates Bujalski’s movies from the rest of the mumblecore group is his affinity for shooting on film. While the advent of digital technology allows filmmakers to be unprecious with their takes, working through improvised scenes and leaving room for experimentation, shooting on film requires a director to be a little more thoughtful. Mutual Appreciation, like all of Bujalski’s movies, is predicated on written dialogue and adherence to a script. This adds a level of mastery to his films, as all the acting performances still retain that iconic naturalism found in mumblecore movies.
2 The Puffy Chair (2005)
Directed by Jay and Mark Duplass
The third film from the trio of SXSW mumblecore originators is 2005’s The Puffy Chair, a film directed by indie powerhouse duo Jay and Mark Duplass and denoted as Netflix’s first feature film acquisition. The pair of directing brothers made their debut with this mumblecore classic, starring Mark as the abrasively explosive Josh. As another film which takes an honest look at complicated relationships, The Puffy Chair translates its raw emotionality into a frenetic visual style. Like an omniscient presence floating alongside the improvising main characters, the camera feels like a distinct character within the film’s makeup.
With the success of
The Puffy Chair
, Jay and Mark Duplass helped establish a filmmaking mode which would launch the next generation of independent filmmakers.
In comparison to other mumblecore fellows, The Duplass Brothers took their energetic filmmaking style into the greater entertainment landscape by writing, directing, producing, and acting in various films and television series. Though they haven’t directed a film since 2012, their stamp on the mumblecore movement and cinema culture overall cannot be understated. With the success of The Puffy Chair, Jay and Mark Duplass helped establish a filmmaking mode which would launch the next generation of independent filmmakers.
1 Funny Ha Ha (2002)
Directed by Andrew Bujalski
Though 2002’s Funny Ha Ha predates the origins of the term ‘mumblecore,’ the film is often credited as the first of its kind. Film director Andrew Bujalski makes his definitive directorial debut with another rough-around-the-edges character study, this time featuring directionless drifter Marnie as she settles into her post-grad life. Bujalski shows a proficiency in excruciatingly painful cringe, dragging audiences through awkward situations and Marnie’s unsightly self-deprecation. Funny Ha Ha emboldens as such a strong statement film and was clearly an inspiration for films like Frances Ha and Nights and Weekends.
Although he claims to have never intentionally started a mumblecore movement, Bujalski’s contributions to cinema certainly require a special title. Before Jay and Mark Duplass, before Joe Swanberg, before Greta Gerwig and Lena Dunham, it was the daring proclamation of Funny Ha Ha which announced the arrival of mumblecore mania. The film director has since moved onto bigger societal themes and movies with bigger movie stars, but his indie spirit is still hitched to the mumblecore wagon.