It’s unmistakable that the DIY champions of the mumblecore movement,MarkandJay Duplass, have built something of an empire. To hear Mark Duplasstell it, he’d say the body of work he and Jay formed came as a result of a failure to become theCoen Brothers, but if you let nearly anyone else take a crack at explaining their success, the results are often far more flattering. The duo have been in the business for over a decade, and during that time have built a body of work defined by its reliable quality, unmistakable aesthetic consistency, and some of the most honest and human sensibilities indie film has to offer.
Coming up alongside other indie juggernauts likeJoe SwanbergandAndrew Bujalski, the Duplass Brothers have created a small but undeniably personal group of films, ranging from the intensely commercial to the rebelliously DIY. Filmmakers since Jay could manage to hoist a camera on his shoulders, the two have now formed a production company of their own (named, fittingly, Duplass Brothers Productions) responsible for films likeTangerineandThe Overnight. But despite their intensely busy production schedule, the Duplass brothers have still found time for TV with HBO’sTogetherness, now in its second season.
As the series unfolds (the second season premiered this Sunday), we thought we would take a look at the brothers’ writer/director efforts, from their first trip to Sundance in 2006 to their recent mature television work. In honor of the second season ofTogetherness, and whatever else they’ve got up their sleeves next, we’ve got all of the Duplass Brothers’ writer/director efforts, ranked from worst to best, for your viewing pleasure. (Note: this only applies to their collaborations as writers/directors, not just producers, and also excluding their solo acting gigs likeTransparentandThe League). Let’s get going.
6. The Do-Deca Pentathlon (2012)
Returning to their lo-fi roots after their commercial dalliancesCyrusandJeff, Who Lives at Homethe years prior,The Do-Deca Pentathlonis a family drama predicated on an intense competition between two brothers borne out of years of frustration and sibling rivalry. But the film, which stands as the Duplass’ most recent cinematic outing, feels more like a downgrade than a self-assured return to their original scale. Appearing as both a well-intentioned apology for the brother’s turn to the commercial, as well as a tribute to their early films,The Do-Deca Pentathlonfails to transcend beyond its lovely but disjointed collection of moments. The always reliableSteve Zissisis impressively funny, and the film’s final scenes feel remarkably touching, but it’s hard not to feel as thoughThe Do-Deca Pentathlonmight have run better as one zippy episode ofTogetherness.
5. Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011)
The second of the Duplass brothers’ commercial trilogy,Jeff, Who Lives at Hometakes a singularly intimate approach to the common vagrancies of life, centering aroundJason Segelas a predictably charmingSigns-obsessed slacker. Still living in his mother’s (Susan Sarandon) basement despite his age, the titular Jeff is drawn out of the house by a wrong number he mistakes for a twist of fate, before running into his joylessly type-A brother (Ed Helms). As is the usual, the film’s concept is low, and in the end exploits the filmmakers’ characteristic ambivalent optimism, but the film’s staging can feel unfortunately overwrought, poking holes in their usually reliable authenticity.
Conceived after a casual on-set conversation during the making of their debut, Jay and Mark followed upThe Puffy Chairwith a film that remains an outlier in their overwhelmingly understated filmography.Bagheadreturns to the same stripped down, handheld aesthetic of their first film, but ditches its exercises in realism for a strange and slightly trippy pseudo-horror film, following a quartet of Hollywood hopefuls (including a very youngGreta Gerwig) as their attempt at a creative weekend devolves into paranoia and increasing self absorption. On one end, the film is a smart and current send-up of indie film detractors, purposefully exposing the difficulty of DIY filmmaking, but on the other, the film’s tone is hard to pin down, makingBaghead’sfinal reveal feel a bit deflating. Because of this, it received generally milquetoast reviews at the time of its release, but watchingBagheadnow, its positions on still-current concerns like fame, privacy and the lines between fiction and reality make the off-kilter thriller feel surprisingly cutting edge even today.
3. Togetherness (2015 - ?)
Allison has already penned a pointed breakdown of the second seasonhere, but it’s safe to say that the Duplass brothers’ ongoing television work ranks as some of their best yet (even if it is only for established Duplass fans). A fitting culmination to the films that came before it, and an apt choice of format considering Jay’s recurring role onTransparentand Mark’s on the long-runningThe League,Togethernessnonetheless stands as easily the pair’s darkest work yet, and a clear outlet for some of their more nihilistic tendencies. Following a directionless married couple (Mark Duplass andMelanie Lynskey), orbited by a family friend (frequent collaborator Steve Zissis) and a trainwreck of a close relative (Amanda Peet),Togethernessnamely succeeds in its devotion to honesty when it comes to adult relationships, and the inherent sadness in the compromises of aging. The sharp-edged sensibilities of the show certainly can cut, often dullingly, into the viewer’s consciousness, but what Mark calls a “no concept” show still carries some of the most far-reaching insights the Duplass brothers have ever indulged in, even if that means losing some of their idiosyncratic fun.
2. The Puffy Chair (2005)
There’s no getting away fromThe Puffy Chair’s historical importance, and while Bujalski’sFunny Ha Hais often identified as the first of the mumblecore movement – defined by its realistic, improvisational dialog and low budgets –The Puffy Chairwas the one greeted with enough press and excitement to cross over into the mainstream. A deceptively simple film that helped to incubate what would become Duplassian cinematic trademarks that exist to this day,The Puffy Chairfirst poses as a festival ‘road movie’ staple before devolving into a hellish exploration of relationships and faux-maturity. And it seems a fitting companion to the decade-laterTogetherness(despite the film’s ending, it feels easy to imagine Lynskey and Duplass as older versions of the film’s central characters), but whereTogetherness’crushing sense of reality can eventually wear on the viewer,The Puffy Chairdelivers enough consistent humor to keep the film buoyant.
1. Cyrus (2010)
Though it seems almost antithetical that one of the pair’s most effective works is one whose aesthetic (and star-studded cast) reflects the most commercial sensibilities, it’s nearly impossible to discount the dopey charm ofCyrus. A low-key jaunt through a budding relationship, the film offers Duplass filmic traditions at what might be their very best, presenting a collection of small wonders that culminate in surprisingly poetic truths, arriving so subtly as to allow you to feel as though you discovered them all on your own. And whileCyrushas got some of the gloss of a studio-backed feature, the film’s DIY roots are easily given away by Jay’s quick zoom cinematography and the brothers’ charitable humanity. Featuring charm aplenty fromMarisa Tomei, John C. Reilly, Catherine KeenerandJonah Hillas the titular Cyrus, it’s cringe comedy at its most sentimental, and personal catharsis at its most hilarious.
