I’ve seen this question kicked around a lot. Having been a part of the festival circuit when “mumblecore” became a concept, and having spent time with the filmmakers who produced these films; from Greta Gerwig at Cucalorus to Lynn Shelton at Slamdance; and having made a film that touches on some of the mumblecore techniques, I’m going to try to address this.
The term mumblecore is a catchall for usually under-produced, meandering naturalistic improv films (with sketched out stories but not necessarily pre-written dialogue) about 20-30 something’s struggling to exist.
This label first appeared around 2005, when Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig started creating films together. It gained traction at SXSW, and was fueled by additional filmmakers working with a similar sensibility, like Aaron Katz. Soon, the filmmakers became friends, and there was crossover in actors and production teams.
The backstory of the term, as I heard it go, first appeared during either the production of LOL or a following Swanberg/Gerwig film, when one of the sound guys jokingly called the improv technique “mumblecore”. So if anyone should be associated with that term, it’s Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig. Greenburg is certainly mumblecore influenced—I don’t know if the name is related to Joe or not.
Asking if Greenburg is mumblecore is probably the wrong question. As my friend Aaron Hillis (a distributor, filmmaker, and critic for the Village Voice) once said to me, “there is no such thing as mumblecore, there never was”. It’s a way of bulk categorizing the films that have emerged because of the democratization of filmmaking—both distribution and technology. It may have helped some careers, but in more cases than not, having the label of mumblecore, partly because of its inherently derogatory branding was a major setback. Also, all of the lesser films about 20 something’s doing little or nothing got grouped as part of mumblecore, causing every film to be given a kind of an average value. If an audience-goer saw something branded as mumblecore they hated, they would likely never give something within that realm a chance again.
Giving something a brand helps us compartmentalize, analyze, and debate. Whether or not you ever enjoy something within the expanded realm of mumblecore, know that not all mumblecore-esque films achieve the same things. Humpday is not Baghead, which is not Quiet City, which is not LOL, which is not Bummer Summer, which is certainly not FrICTION (instead being coined as “fourthwall”). And in some cases the mumblecore label was grossly misapplied, like with The Guatemalan Handshake, simply because the filmmakers were friends. There is nothing about Guatemalan Handshake that is similar to other films labeled as mumblecore—outside of maybe casting techniques—yet it is listed as part of the movement on wikipedia.
However, deep within the brand of mumblecore there do seem to be some unifying elements: the goal of extreme naturalism, existential angst, long takes with improv, nudity and sex, focus on minutia, little or no make-up, and natural lighting. In these respects, Greenburg could be deemed a mumblecore film. And it has Greta, of course.
Where Greenburg deviates is mainly in production value. But also, the shots are wider, the camera moves with purpose, the sets are carefully articulated to feel real— and while there was likely improv somewhere along the way, this film was carefully constructed, poetic, and has a motion similar to Baumbach’s previous works. In many ways, he takes the best of mumblecore and (with Greta, Stiller and his wife) extracts the mumble-juice while retaining careful artistic purpose and intent. You even get a guest appearance from a Duplass brother.
Congratulations to Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, Ben Stiller, and all involved in this project. And congrats to all the filmmakers who have participated in this realm of expression, regardless of your level of critical success. This reads as an answer to many of the mumblecore films that have been produced over the last 5-6 years, some of which Greta was involved in. I’m looking forward to Lynn Shelton’s next project, and it’s a treat to see the Duplass brothers work with a respectable budget and notable actors on Cyrus. The promise of the indie film festival circuit brought to life…
