It’s been about five years since mumblecore happened. You remember mumblecore. Wait —
you don’t? “Didn’t even notice it”
? Mumblecore? That film movement/all-purpose umbrella term, used to describe a wave of low-low budget movies featuring inarticulate hipsters? Living in one-bedroom lofts? Having awkward, stammering conversations, as if acting out the transcripts from a social networking chat? (Hence the name, mumblecore?) The kind of films that always looked as if they were shot on a Logan Square futon?
Indeed, one of the most popular films from the mumblecore bubble, Chicago director Joe Swanberg’s “Hannah Takes the Stairs” (2007), was shot in a Logan Square apartment over a hot summer in 2006. Like other mumblecore films — Andrew Bujalski’s “Mutual Appreciation,” Jay and Mark Duplass’ “Puffy Chair,” Aaron Katz’s “Dance Party, USA” — the primary theme was post-collegiate life; and the primary feeling that audiences got was a tentativeness, that these were characters in transition (yet too narcissistic to notice).
Anyway, here’s what happened to mumblecore: The filmmakers and cast got older, had kids and, to varying degrees, moved on. (Most notably, Greta Gerwig, star of “Hannah,” who co-starred with Ben Stiller in “Greenberg” and Russell Brand in “Arthur.”) As for Swanberg, he never left Chicago, or slowed down. In fact, not including “Young American Bodies,” the ongoing series for IFC that Swanberg produces with his wife, Kris, he has made 12 features since 2004. His latest, “Uncle Kent,” is showing Wednesday and Thursday at the Siskel Film Center (and is available through on-demand until early June).
One thing’s different, though. Swanberg turns 30 in August. And it shows. According to Barbara Scharres, director of programming at the film center, “Uncle Kent” is a fine example of a new mumblecore maturity, “of how this kind of slice-of-life storytelling, this laidback, nondramatic style, discovered the little spark it needed to make narratives move.”
What hasn’t changed is Swanberg’s home base. A native of Naperville, he still lives in Chicago. “Why?” he said. “When these films started taking off, I didn’t feel like moving to New York or Los Angeles. Those places are competitive environments, and that’s become less exciting to me. I also never thought to do this as a way to eventually direct big movies later on. I’m just not the kind of guy who sits around thinking about how to make an action film for $10,000.”
That said,
we have here a photo of the Swanbergs and their son, Jude Huckleberry. Nothing special is happening. Just a day in a West Town apartment. And yet, as in mumblecore, the ordinary speaks volumes:
1. He works fast
Chicago filmmaker Frank V. Ross describes Swanberg’s method of finishing a film as “monkey-barring to the end.” There’s no script. “I have never seen him write anything down,” Ross said. “It’s all in his head.” Swanberg made five movies last year. “Uncle Kent” was shot in six days. “And I’m getting faster,” he said. “Which is ironic because I plan more. It’s incredible how much faster I work when I know what I want to do.”
2. Life dictates style
A style that could be described as cultivated distraction. “I don’t want this to sound wrong,” Bujalski said, “but Joe works so fast he’s able to delve deeply into thoughts that people like myself are afraid to reveal. It’s like you’re watching him work out his feelings in real time.” When he was younger, Swanberg said, “the goal was emulate life, to capture the sense that characters didn’t know what was going to happen.” So, a roaming quality. This meant no set design, only real locations. “It was cheating if I planned anything ahead. But realism started to become like a dead end. I’m getting more specific about the things I want to say.”
3. There’s more responsibility
With a 6-month-old, money has become more important than ever to Swanberg. His wife’s boutique ice cream business, Nice Cream, is doing well. “But the reason I make so many movies every year is that I couldn’t survive on returns from just one,” he said. His films cost $25,000 to $50,000 to make; financing is cobbled together from various sources. “I don’t make much on any of my movies, but an interesting thing has started happening. Each movie will bring in a small amount. Money starts trickling back, and with 12 of them now, each one does its small part. If each brings in a few thousand or so a year, it starts to look like a living.”
cborrelli@tribune.com Twitter @borrelli
