I do not have a lot of experience in this genre of the independent film movement. But, in our search for the next John Cassavetes, we have to ask if Joe Swanberg is one to watch.
Low budget, improvised dialog (just about everyone in the film gets a writing credit), and a look at the lives of twenty-somethings, is part of the genre called "mumblecore" or " bedhead cinema" or "Slackavetes" in an homage to Cassavetes. My only previous experience has been Mark and Jay Duplass' film The Puffy Chair.
The film is about relationships, real and imaginary and how the two blend. Jess Weixler, who I loved in Teeth, is a stage actress in a way off Broadway production. She is married to Eliott (Justin Rice), a travelling musician. She brings Jaime (Barlow Jacobs - Shotgun Stories) home after rehearsal, as he has no where else to go. She tries to hook him up with her sister Hellen (Amy Seimetz - Wristcutters: A Love Story). The problem is that the lovemaking on stage is moving off stage. The imaginary is becoming real. No big surprise there as the stage sex is pretty real.
Of course, Hellen starts becoming jealous and accusatory, so her relationship with Alex (Weixler) deteriorates. The real starts to affect the imaginary as the stage relationship is strained.
The film had it's World Premiere last weekend at the SXSW.
