mumblecore
noun
mum·ble·core ˈməm-bəl-ˌkȯr 
: a genre of narrative film focusing primarily on the intimate lives of young characters and featuring scenes of ample dialogue and minimal action
The actors (almost always nonprofessionals) rarely say what they mean; a lot of time, they don't know what they mean. … The first mumblecore film, by general agreement, was Andrew Bujalski's 2002 "Funny Ha Ha," a sweet-natured account of a young woman's post-college blues.
David Denby
David DenbyGreenberg's Florence lives in somewhat less of a bubble than a lot of mumblecore characters in that she is more or less gainfully employed and interacts with people older than herself. Jesse Hassenger
Jesse Hassenger
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The same collaborative meaning-making was in evidence at Wynn’s, where Wengrow was receptive to everyone, even the inevitable town-hall shaman who stood and delivered a mumblecore homily about … something. Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 11 July 2022 The whole squad is primed for a good life and yet each is miserable in such a relentlessly benign way that their acquiescence turns the crime itself into a joyless affair, The Thomas Crown Affair as mumblecore. Tod Goldberg, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2022 Inspired by past improv and mumblecore films, improvisation and risk-taking was important on set. Meredith Woerner, Variety, 14 Oct. 2021 The main expression and key movement in that change is mumblecore, which has exerted a wide-ranging influence through its luminaries, its aesthetic, and its ideas. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2020 There’s a laid-back, mumblecore vibe to the film that might have worked had there been more irony or humor in the script, or more personality in the lead performances. Devika Girish, New York Times, 7 May 2020 Many of the substantial changes in the industry have come from the new generation of filmmakers—yes, mumblecore. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2019 From an artistic perspective, the past decade in movies is the decade of mumblecore. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2019 The pathbreaking Amazon original series has been battered by scandal and missteps, and its movie-length finale ditches its onetime star and morphs from mumblecore dramedy to an entirely more bombastic genre. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 26 Sep. 2019 See More
Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 11 July 2022 The whole squad is primed for a good life and yet each is miserable in such a relentlessly benign way that their acquiescence turns the crime itself into a joyless affair, The Thomas Crown Affair as mumblecore. Tod Goldberg, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2022 Inspired by past improv and mumblecore films, improvisation and risk-taking was important on set. Meredith Woerner, Variety, 14 Oct. 2021 The main expression and key movement in that change is mumblecore, which has exerted a wide-ranging influence through its luminaries, its aesthetic, and its ideas. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2020 There’s a laid-back, mumblecore vibe to the film that might have worked had there been more irony or humor in the script, or more personality in the lead performances. Devika Girish, New York Times, 7 May 2020 Many of the substantial changes in the industry have come from the new generation of filmmakers—yes, mumblecore. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2019 From an artistic perspective, the past decade in movies is the decade of mumblecore. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2019 The pathbreaking Amazon original series has been battered by scandal and missteps, and its movie-length finale ditches its onetime star and morphs from mumblecore dramedy to an entirely more bombastic genre. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 26 Sep. 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
mumble + -core (in hard-core, soft-core)
First Known Use
2005, in the meaning defined above