Joe Swanberg is an American director who got started directing mumblecore movies. This subgenre is driven by character, without too much plot, with naturalistic dialogue, and a low budget. He worked with the other staples of the genre: Greta Gerwig, the Duplass brothers, Josephine Decker, Amy Seimitx, Lynn Shelton, Andrew Bujalski, and Lena Dunham. The mumblecore films allowed Swanberg to start doing movies very early and learn all the tricks of the trade without having to conform to the studio’s ideas, even working as an actor in many of them. After 33 credits as a director, he’s established himself enough to be able to keep producing small movies and TV shows for streaming companies (mainly Netflix). Let’s sit on our couch, enjoy some improvised dialogue, and look at Joe Swanberg’s best movies and TV shows, ranked:
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7 Happy Christmas (2014)
Magnolia Pictures
Jenny (Anna Kendrick) is an irresponsible twenty-something that moves in with her brother and his family after breaking up with her boyfriend. After some false starts and messiness, she starts to get things together, while unexpectedly bonding with her sister-in-law. Swanberg’s best talent is extracting incredible and realistic performances from his actors, and Happy Christmas is no different. Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, and Lena Dunham have all the best scenes (Swanberg himself plays Kendrick’s brother), looking like real friends. Especially the scene where all three women work together to think up a seduction scene for Linskey’s character’s book.
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6 Nights and Weekends (2008)
IFC Films
Mattie (Greta Gerwig) and James (Swanberg) have a long-distance relationship. That creates many problems and arguments between them every time they see each other in person. One of Swanberg’s longest collaborators during the early mumblecore days was Gerwig. Nights and Weekends was co-directed, co-written, and acted by both in what’s an absolute two-hander. It was Gerwig’s first time directing and acting, and it wouldn’t be her last time behind the camera. The movie was directed without any artifice, almost in a documentary style, and explored how couples can be together in a realistic way: horny, bored, in love, out-of-love, cruel, manipulative, insecure, happy, together, laughing, trying to say something real about relationships, true love, intimacy, and awkward silences. Gerwig told Vulture about the movie: “The original idea was that we were going to make a movie about a happy couple. [Laughs.] But then when we started shooting it, it became kind of clear that we were making another movie.”
5 Digging For Fire (2015)
Sony Pictures Worldwide
Tim (Jake Johnson) and Lee (Rosemarie DeWitt) have been married long enough that there are no sparks left. They take a weekend off from each other and learn a lot more about themselves and what they want for and from each other than they thought. Digging for Fire has two secret weapons: the lead actors. Under Swanberg’s direction, both can create interesting characters that, even with improvised dialogue, can show us their inner lives, doubts, and feelings. The supporting cast is stacked: Sam Rockwell, Chris Messina, Anna Kendrick, Orlando Bloom, Brie Larson, Sam Elliot, and Swanberg (who also acts in the movie) prove how this kind of film, where there’s an idea for a plot, but the actors can try things and improvise, is popular with the best actors out there.
4 Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007)
Hannah (Gerwig) has just graduated from college and started interning at a Chicago production company. There, she’s crushing on two writers. She starts a relationship with both, to see who suits her better while discovering herself and who she wants to be as a grown-up. Swanberg and Gerwig co-wrote the movie, and you could already see some of the ideas that would help Gerwig become a great director. Many think this was the best movie of the mumblecore movement, thanks to Swanberg’s direction, its attention to detail, and showing a moment in time when we’re all almost lost, and especially Gerwig’s acting, as the quirky, insecure Hannah. Swanberg told Filmmaker Magazine: “It really became clear to me that the relationships she’s going through are very similar to the way that I’m making these films. I got excited about them, and get way, heavily into them for a while, and then my attention shifts to the next project, and I move around looking for satisfaction, but ultimately not finding it.”
3 Win It All (2017)
Netflix
Eddie Garret (Jake Johnson) is a gambler through-and-through. That’s how he uses and loses all his money and spends all his time. When a tough guy asks him to hold on to a bag, while he’s in prison, Eddie looks inside and finds the money… that he can gamble with, and lose. When the tough guy leaves prison early, Eddie must get all the money as quickly as possible. Win It All was the third collaboration between Swanberg and Johnson (the director’s new muse after Gerwig), and they co-wrote it together. You can see the naturalistic style and simple setting that always are in Swanberg’s movies, but this time the plot is more than a simple excuse for the characters to learn about themselves and their relationships. Johnson always knows how to be low-key charming, and makes us root for this disaster of a gambling man in one of his best performances ever.
2 Easy
The first TV show conceived by Swanberg uses the anthology format to show us the different lives of people in Chicago. This style allows him to talk about all types of subjects: love, relationships, work, online dating, family, creating a business, marriage, old love, and many more, always through his unique vision. There’s improvised dialogue, unique conversations, and smart points of view that make you feel like you’re eavesdropping on these people’s lives. The anthology format in Easy allows for a great cast as many actors only appear in one episode or two. The show also uses those actors differently than they’re normally portrayed; getting new and unique performances from actors like Orlando Bloom, Anna Kendrick, Marc Maron, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Melanie Lynsky, Jake Johnson, Zazie Beetz, Aya Cash, Dave Franco, Jane Adams, and many, many more.
1 Drinking Buddies
Luke (Jake Johnson) and Kate (Olivia Wilde) work together at a brewery and, if you didn’t know any better, you’d think they’re a couple. But it’s not the case, both are in long-term relationships with Jill (Anna Kendrick) and Chris (Ron Livingston). Will they try to become a couple even if they have to hurt someone else in the process? Drinking Buddies was Johnson’s first collaboration with Swanberg, and we can see why they’ve been working together ever since. Swanberg’s loose and improvised style suits Johnson and the rest of the cast. As in all his movies, the director extracts great performances from his cast, and this time was no different, giving them new colors to paint in their performances. Johnson is great, but the same has to be said of Wilde and Kendrick in one of the best mumblecore movies ever.
As in many of Swanberg’s movies, Drinking Buddies might not look like much, but it shows an important moment in the life of its characters, one they’ll remember. It does so with fun conversations, unique asides, and showing the lives of normal, simple people; something that’s unfortunately seen less and less in a world of heroes, explosions, and franchises. Sometimes you just want to see a group of friends having fun, falling in love, and figuring out themselves, and thankfully, Swanberg loves to show us those kinds of stories.
