Who are the Duplass Brothers?

Who are the Duplass brothers is a question that quite a few people are perhaps asking as the pair enter the spotlight more and more. I have therefore created something of a primer for the Duplass brothers for anyone interested in checking out their work.

Although probably well known to anyone who has followed the progress of the ‘mumblecore movement’, Mark and Jay Duplass have not made too much of an impact on mainstream audiences until now. With the US release (and UK release in September) of their new film, Cyrus, the pair have done what can only be described as crossed over.

If you’re not familiar with ‘mumblecore’, it is considered by many to be a movement in American cinema led by filmmakers such as Joe Swanberg, Lynn Shelton, the Duplass Brothers and many others who appeared to form a loose collective (although many reject the mumblecore tag) and over the past few years have created a variety of films all characterised by the use of low grade equipment, realistic settings and naturalistic performances and dialogue. The roots of mumblecore are often attributed to filmmakers such as John Cassavetes and Richard Linklater but with a variety of people making what are often considered mumblecore films, the influences are very diverse.

Below is my primer for the Duplass brothers. It is not an exhaustive list of their work and there are some acting roles I have not included (although I can recommend Hannah Takes the Stairs which Mark acts in) but it should give you a good introduction to their films and hopefully inspire you to check out their films if you haven’t already.

This Is John (2003)

This Is John is an eight minute short film starring Mark Duplass with Mark also credited as writer and Jay credited as director. The short film features the character John attempting to record the outgoing message for his answering machine, something which should be so simple.

The short film establishes key characteristics of the Duplass brother’s films with the comedy beats mixing with dramatic moments and awkward raw emotion. It also showcases Mark’s acting abilities which are actually not bad. As a short film This Is John works brilliantly and the pair show that they know how to create a concept perfect for this medium.

Check out the short film in full, embedded below.

Scrapple (2004)

Scrapple centres on an uncomfortable game of scrabble played between Mark Duplass and Katie Aselton as Rick and Amy. In a very natural progression there are a lot of similarities between This Is John and Scrapple, especially in the use of camera movement and close ups, but this time we see conversational dialogue and naturalistic interaction between a well drawn couple. The Duplass Brothers show here how adept they are at imbuing their characters with a level of depth and complexity. Although the characters of Rick and Amy have some simplistic characteristics there are obviously complex characters and it is surprising that when you come away from the short film you feel as if you know them very well.

Check out the short film below.

The Puffy Chair (2005)

The Puffy Chair was the Duplass brothers first attempt at a full feature film and they have acknowledged in interviews that in many ways the film is actually a series of short films pulled together using a road movie structure. Winner of the 2005 SXSW audience award The Puffy Chair helped raise the pair’s profile and has since been something of a sleeper hit on home video following a deal in the US with Netflix.

There are moments of brilliance in The Puffy Chair, short scenes and brief interchanges between characters that I loved but it is a little uneven as a whole. I also found the DIY approach to the filmmaking a little annoying in this instance. Although I do not expect a high standard to the technical elements in mumblecore films the out of focus shots and use of zooms in The Puffy Chair are beyond a minor issue and were just a constant irritation for me. These technical aspects seemed to serve no deliberate positive purpose in the film and their detrimental effect was significant.

I also found the main male character, Josh (played by Mark Duplass) and his brother Rhett (Rhett Wilkins) to be so idiotic that I almost found myself losing interest in their journey. It was the dynamic between Josh and his girlfriend Emily (Katie Aselton) though that kept pulling me back in. This is one of the main strengths of The Puffy Chair and the dialogue between the couple feels natural and genuine. Despite a few reservations I would recommend The Puffy Chair as it it has a lot of positives to latch onto.

Take a look at the trailer embedded below to give you a taste of the film.