Mumblecore: Then and Now

For fans of indie cinema, the word “mumblecore” might make perfect sense. But for everyone else, it likely doesn’t mean much.

I first encountered the term in 2008 in a magazine article. The writer used it to describe a film called Baghead. Reading the article, I tried to piece together what made this movie different from other independent films, and why it deserved its own term. Baghead was shot on a shoestring budget by two brothers, and it featured a cast of unknowns. Okay. But that also described plenty of other movies. But Baghead also relied heavily on improvisation during filming. It was shot with a digital camera (which, at the time, was a much less common filmmaking approach). It was also a self-referencing satire of horror movies and the movie-making process.

Then I started to understand what “mumblecore” meant.

That’s not to say that all mumblecore movies fit that mold, but most include at least some of those elements. Most are heavily improvised, and all are shot on digital. They also often deal with the process of making art of some kind (usually on a small scale), and the problems that come along with that. From Baghead (which follows four actors who write a horror movie that starts to come true in their real lives) to Lena Dunham’s Tiny Furniture (whose protagonist, Aura, finds a creative outlet in making YouTube videos), a lot of mumblecore movies are about making art, and why the process sometimes sucks.

But while the films are shot on a low budget and usually have a DIY look, the name “mumblecore” is a bit of a misnomer. When I heard the term, I imagined the characters in these movies to all be depressed and mumbling about various pretentious topics. But there’s very little mumbling, and a lot of the characters are vibrant and talkative, and also really funny. A comedic edge is a must-have for a mumblecore movie, and the actors need to be able to be funny on the spot.

Essential Mumblecore:
Mutual Appreciation (Bujalski, 2005)
Nights & Weekends (Swanberg/Gerwig, 2008)
Baghead (Duplass brothers [above], 2008)
Humpday (Shelton, 2009)
Tiny Furniture (Dunham, 2010)
Cyrus (Duplass brothers, 2010)

So, naturally, as the movement became bigger, it started to attract some more well-known actors. Jay and Mark Duplass (the directors of Baghead) nabbed John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, and Marisa Tomei for their next film, Cyrus. And while Cyrus featured lots of improvisation and a similar comedic tone, the increased star power made it feel very different in a lot of ways. There was more finesse to it than Baghead.

In a lot of ways, that change is inevitable. I certainly can’t blame the Duplass brothers for jumping to work with the likes of John C. Reilly. And with that increased star power comes more financing for their movies. The brothers’ first feature, The Puffy Chair was reportedly made for a mere $15,000 while Cyrus cost $6 million to put together. But while Cyrus is probably the most commercially successful movie from the genre, there still hasn’t really been a crossover hit from the mumblecore scene yet.

The Duplass Brothers by the Numbers

	Budget	Box Office Gross
The Puffy Chair (2006)	$15,000 (estimated)	$195,000
Baghead (2008)	$50,000	$140,000
Cyrus (2010)	$6 million	$7.5 million
Jeff Who Lives At Home (2012)	$10 million (estimated)	$4.3 million (to date)

However, that’s not to say that the mumblecore movement is slowing down, or that it hasn’t produced any stars. After the critical success of Tiny Furniture, Dunham launched the HBO comedy series Girls back in April, produced by Judd Apatow. And while the show has faced criticism for its lack of diversity, it’s certainly gotten people talking. Dunham also brought several of her co-stars from Tiny Furniture along for this new project, including Alex Karpovsky, who is himself a mumblecore filmmaker.

That sense of community is another major component of mumblecore. Partly thanks to almost non-existent film budgets, many mumblecore directors also appear in their own movies, as well as those made by others.  For example, Joe Swanberg, one of the most prominent and prolific mumblecore directors, has appeared in several of his own films and found co-stars in the likes of Jay and Mark Duplass, Andrew Bujalski, and Lynn Shelton, all of whom have successful directing careers of their own.

Greta Gerwig in Greenberg

And while mumblecore itself may not be mainstream yet, at least one of its original stars, Greta Gerwig, is. She first starred in the Duplass’ Baghead, as well as Swanberg’s Hannah Takes the Stairs, and Nights and Weekends (which she co-directed). However, she was introduced to a much larger audience when she was cast alongside Ben Stiller in Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg in 2010. Critics, film fans, and (most importantly) filmmakers took note, and Gerwig soon got cast in mainstream comedies like Arthur, No Strings Attached, and the upcoming Woody Allen ensemble comedy To Rome With Love.

So, clearly, Gerwig is on her way up – and deservedly so. Dunham and her Girls friends are also enjoying some bigger success. But what about mumblecore’s other prominent figures? Well, directing-wise, Jay and Mark Duplass and Lynn Shelton both have projects coming out this summer. However, Mark Duplass seems have found some bigger success with his acting. He’s appeared in a number of projects (including the FX series The League), and this summer, he has a couple more – most puzzlingly, the Diane Keaton dog dramedy (yes, you read that correctly) Darling Companion. Whether filmgoers know it or not, mumblecore is quietly making a name for itself – sometimes where you least expect it.