Mumblecore is a subgenre of independent film characterized by naturalistic acting and dialogue (sometimes improvised), low-budget film production, an emphasis on dialogue over plot, and a focus on the personal relationships of young adults. Filmmakers associated with the genre include Andrew Bujalski, Lynn Shelton, Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass (known collectively as the Duplass brothers), Greta Gerwig, Aaron Katz, Joe Swanberg, and Ry Russo-Young. In many cases, though, these directors reject the term. The genre is a mostly American phenomenon. The related term mumblegore has been used for films mixing the mumblecore and horror genres.
Distinguishing characteristics
Naturalism – both in performance and dialogue – is a key feature of almost all mumblecore films. Early mumblecore films tended to feature non-professional actors; however, later films have had more professional actors, including major stars such as Anna Kendrick (Drinking Buddies and Happy Christmas) and Orlando Bloom (Digging for Fire). Some mumblecore films feature a prominent use of improvisation, with the cast sharing script credits, though some, like Andrew Bujalski's films, are mostly scripted.
Mumblecore films are generally produced with a low budget, which has ranged from several thousand to several million dollars as well as low production values. Filming is done in real places, as opposed to studio sets or sound stages. Many of these films are shot digitally, although Bujalski's films have all been shot on film. Soundtracks tend to be limited, or nonexistent.
Mumblecore films tend to revolve around characters in their twenties and early thirties who are usually single, white, and fairly aimless in both their professional and personal lives. Plots are often concerned with difficulties in romantic relationships, exacerbated by the characters' inability to articulate their own desires.
Influences on mumblecore
Films that have been described as influencing, or at least anticipating, the conventions of mumblecore include Girlfriends (1978), Manhattan (1979), My Dinner with Andre (1981), Stranger Than Paradise (1984), Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), Slacker (1991), Clerks (1994), Go Fish (1994) and Before Sunrise (1995). Directors cited as influences include Michelangelo Antonioni, Eric Rohmer, Andrei Tarkovsky, Gus Van Sant, Richard Linklater, and John Cassavetes.
Reality television, including what one critic called "the spring-break psychodrama of MTV's The Real World, has also been called an influence on mumblecore, as has the 2001 BBC reality-TV-style mockumentary series The Office.
Another often-cited influence on mumblecore is the profusion of cheaper filmmaking technology starting in the early 2000s, such as the Panasonic AG-DVX100 video camera, and desktop video editing software such as Final Cut Pro.
History
Bujalski has been described as the "Godfather of Mumblecore". His 2002 directorial debut, Funny Ha Ha, is generally considered to be the first mumblecore film.
The 2005 South by Southwest Film Festival screened a number of other films that came to be considered part of the mumblecore movement, including Bujalski's second film, Mutual Appreciation; The Puffy Chair, by Mark Duplass & Jay Duplass; and Kissing on the Mouth, by Joe Swanberg. That festival was also the origin of the term "mumblecore": Eric Masunaga, a sound editor who has worked with Bujalski, coined the term one night at a bar during the festival, when asked to describe the similarities between those three films. The term was first used publicly by Bujalski in an interview with IndieWire. Bujalski has downplayed the existence of an organized "movement", however, and stated that he does not intentionally make "mumblecore" films.
Film journalists have also referred to the genre collectively with the terms "bedhead cinema" and "Slackavetes" (a portmanteau derived from the title of Richard Linklater's dialogue-heavy, lo-fi 1990s film Slacker, and the name of independent film director John Cassavetes).
In 2007, the IFC Center in New York City exhibited a ten-film series of mumblecore films, titled "The New Talkies: Generation D.I.Y." The films shown were: Hannah Takes the Stairs, Funny Ha Ha, Kissing on the Mouth, The Puffy Chair, Dance Party USA, Quiet City, Hohokam, Team Picture, Mutual Appreciation, LOL, and Quietly On By, as well as the first season of Joe Swanberg and Kris Williams' web series Young American Bodies and a collection of short films dubbed "Mumbleshorts."