The other day I was reading an interview with a young up and coming filmmaker named Joe Swanberg, who just finished directing his third feature film, Hannah Takes The Stairs. In the interview they mention Swanberg as being on the leading edge of a new movement in film called “mumblecore”. Despite being possibly the stupidest marketing buzz word I’ve heard since The Splat Pack, the term apparently refers to ultra low-budget productions that star non-professional actors using largely improvised scripts. They tend to be written and directed by filmmakers who are in their twenties, and also feature characters who are twenty-something.

Other directors that have been grouped in with this genre include Aaron Katz (Dance Party USA), Jay Duplass (The Puffy Chair) and Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha). Katz himself has a new movie coming out called Quiet City, which Swanberg also acts in. Although I have yet to see the work of any of these aforementioned directors, I am reminded of films like Bubble, Half Nelson and Me and You and Everyone We Know. I suppose this kind of thing can come off as being a bit artsy and pretentious, but it can also be inventive, vibrant and refreshing, and that’s what I find interesting about it. In another interview, Swanberg mentions Larry David and Ricky Gervais as being a huge influence on his latest film, so you can definitely consider me somewhat intrigued. The question is, how long before a major studio picks up on this so-called trend and tries to make some money off it? Is mumblecore on the verge of a breakout hit?