by Ryan Macdonald

How exactly do you apologize for being eight years late to a movement? Traffic? Couldn’t find parking? The missus took forever getting ready? Whatever the proper excuse, Sexy Gypsy would like to extend it to Mumblecore. Sorry we’re late.

The Movement

If you go to Google and type in “What is Mumblecore?”, you’ll get about 30,000 results. Half of them are wikipedia and urbandictionary (if I wanted to, I could go on both sites and change the definition to “An STD exclusive to muskrats.”). But if you read the other half, you will find numerous definitions, elements, and personal viewpoints. The only thing everyone agrees on is that it is an artistic movement in cinema. It’s also been called “Slackavettes” and I think more accurate: “Post-graduate Naturalism”. Its rumored influences range from John Cassavetes to Larry David, and back to a bunch of guys you’ve never heard of.

But what is it?

Rather than give you a checklist of genre-creating elements, I’ll break down the movement. In the early 2000’s, a group of filmmakers fresh out of film school started picking up handheld digital camcorders and making cheap, dialogue- and character-driven indie films. Unlike many other pretentious and hipster artists who want to carve a niche for themselves, these people just wanted to make good films. However, since there were noticeable underlying themes among these films, they were packed into a neat little box (possibly made of ticky-tacky) and given a name: Mumblecore.

The Players

Good ol’ IMDB has a list of 50 Mumblecore films, made by various directors and actors. However, as far as we are concerned there is a more concentrated, uh, core to the category.

Andrew Bujalski may have been the pioneer of the movement, with his 2002 snapshot film Funny Ha Ha. Extremely Lo Fi, even by 2002 standards, it established his style of abrupt starts and finishes mixed with an awkward uber-realism that makes you cringe. It also established the possibilities for a more naturalistic and unconventional method of filmmaking. While Bujalski isn’t one of my favorite Mumblecore directors, he is one of my favorite actors. Unlike a lot of others in the genre, Bujalski’s range of characters is wider, and though the dialogue might not be scripted, he seems more able to blend himself with the stories from film to film.

Cut to 2005. Not only do we see Bujalski’s second film (Mutual Appreciation, more technically focused but not as well written), but we have the emergence of three other key players. Mark and Jay Duplass and Joe Swanberg. The Duplass Brothers’ The Puffy Chair, about a guy taking a road trip with his girlfriend and brother to pick up a birthday present for their father, is easily one of the best Mumblecore films to date. It still had the indie camcorder feel to it, but the characters were more interesting, the story more engaging, and the acting much more even. Swanberg’s unnecessarily graphic Kissing on the Mouth was another punch landed for the artists. Though I generally detest his characters and his horny overindulgence in superfluous, graphic sexuality, he has a great eye for realistic situations and relatable stages in life. His main character is a girl recently graduated from college. She continues to sleep with her ex, though she doesn’t want to be with him. Between that, her jealous roommate (played by Swanberg) and her menial job at her parents’ business, she is stagnant and ultimately fighting her fear of the next step in life.

By 2006, Mumblecore was in full swing. However, it wasn’t really until 2008 that it really caught the attention of the masses. Lynn Shelton jumped into the fray with My Effortless Brilliance, an extremely dialogue driven film about two friends reconnecting after a falling out. Possibly more focused in scale, the male-driven storyline - complete with the typical male inability to really communicate - was intriguing, and the film was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award (winner, Someone to Watch, 2009). Now, in 2010, Shelton, Bujalski, Swanberg, and The Duplass Brothers are not only on everyone’s radar, but they’re getting a shit ton of indie love and award season nods with their latest work (Humpday, Beeswax, Nights and Weekends, and Baghead respectively).

And who could forget the royalty of the movement, the Queen of Mumblecore herself: Greta Gerwig. Though she only co-directed one film (Nights and Weekends), she is probably the most recognizable face among the actors. With her “realistic” attractiveness and obvious indie girl vibe, her resume definitely earns her the matriarchy. My personal feelings aside (I think her “realistic acting” is too forced), she definitely has the potential for mainstream success, and her upcoming role in Greenberg should be the push she needs.

Speaking of mainstream success: for those of you who don’t know, The Duplass Brothers have finished their first studio production, Cyrus. With big names like Catherine Keener, Jonah Hill, and John C. Reilly on board, they’ve pretty much made it to the big time. (Mark Duplass is also going into his second season of The League, which doesn’t hurt.)

THE FILMS

Rather than ramble on about the numerous titles in the Mumblecore library, I’ll give you a glimpse of my five favorite titles, arranged in no particular order.

Humpday

Lynn Shelton’s second film about two friends (Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard) who decide to have sex together on camera for an amateur porn festival. The juxtaposition of the outrageous plot and the realistic, relatable characters and dialogue is amazing, and fits on screen perfectly. It’s not just watching a movie, it’s like watching home movies that you were behind the camera for.

In Search of a Midnight Kiss

A guy who recently went through a breakup posts a craigslist ad for a New Year’s Eve date; someone to kiss at midnight. The first girl to answer is more attractive than expected, and they spend the next eight hours getting to know each other. With dialogue that rivals Humpday, and a much more accessible, entertaining story, this is a standout title from a one time director (Alex Holdridge).

The Puffy Chair

I described this one above, but had to mention it again here. I might prefer this one to Humpday, for no other reason than the brother and his impulsive marriage to a near stranger was a great addition to a simple story (and still believable; I kinda know people like that).

The Lionshare

A younger cast changes the usual tone in this shorter story about online music sharing and it’s influence in relationships. The dialogue from younger actors actually makes a difference, and for once the cinematography caught my attention. To read my full review, click here.

Medicine for Melancholy

Wyatt Cenac steps away from The Daily Show to return to his roots as a dramatic actor in this story about Gentrification in San Francisco. What I found interesting about this one is that there is at times a purposeful lack of dialogue that is just as effective as the spoken words in the rest of the genre.

Final Thoughts

The BIG Gypsy and I have spent many an hour discussing what exactly makes a Mumblecore film a Mumblecore film. Sure, there are the standards: shot on handheld digital camcorders, about 20-something people finding their way through life (more importantly relationships), and involving very relatable characters. Simple, realistic direction and camerawork with little or no scripted dialogue. Though most of these are in a certain sense true of many Mumblecore films, there is still a problem with the word “Mumblecore” as a label. For starters, how do you classify certain films? Is The Puffy Chair still Mumblecore, even though all the dialogue was scripted? Is Wendy and Lucy not a contender because of unrelatable circumstances and a relationship with a dog? Is Away From Her not included only because the characters are too old? It’s hard to say. This is the reason I feel the label is too broad. However, in relation to The Duplass Brothers’ new film Cyrus, I also feel it’s too narrow. Assigning any list of guidelines to this movement will ultimately conflict with certain projects for directors and actors alike if they attempt to broaden their careers.

Mumblecore is more of a feeling. Like any other genre or category, it is best defined by the effect it has on you. This, to me, is cinema at it’s core: all labels do is put one word to myriad emotions and tonalities we recognize while viewing a film.

So this is my final thought. Whatever you think about Mumblecore as a movement, genre, category, etc., these talented directors may never have been given opportunities without this arbitrary moniker. Whatever it meant in 2002, it might not mean that anymore. I just hope in the future, labels such as this will continue to legitimize the work of truly talented artists.

And again, sorry for being late to this party.

Be on the lookout for my next article: Grunge - The New Music Craze Sweeping the Nation.

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