Joe Swanberg
- 2008
- NR
Two people who fall in love while separated by 800 miles find it's hard to stay friends while living in the same city in this low-key independent drama. James (Joe Swanberg) and Mattie (Greta Gerwig) are in love and trying to make their relationship work. But James lives and works in Chicago, while Mattie calls New York home, and though they try to visit one another as often as they can, their infrequent weekends together are punctuated by telephone calls, e-mails, on-line chatting, and sending digital pictures back and forth. As much as Mattie cares for James, in time the space between them is too much to deal with and they break up. Twelve months later, James' career as a video-game designer is taking off, and a new project necessitates a move to New York City; while they're no longer lovers, he tries to reconnect with Mattie, though his recent success has added a new and uncomfortable element to their relationship. Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig wrote, directed, and produced Nights and Weekends as well as playing the two leads; the film received its world premiere at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Gerwig, Joe Swanberg, (more)
- 2007
In Aaron Katz's idiosyncratic and unpredictable drama Quiet City, Georgian Jamie travels from her Atlanta home to Brooklyn, to visit her friend Samantha. When Jamie arrives, however, Samantha seems to have disappeared from her residence - her phone is disconnected and she cannot be located. By sheer happenstance, Jamie runs into a stranger, Charlie, when she stops him to ask for directions. The two strike up an instant rapport and spend the rest of the day and night together - eating coleslaw, attending art exhibitions and experiencing Manhattan nightlife. The picture thus becomes an exploration of how relationships can spring from chance meetings between strangers, amid the most unfamiliar of circumstances and environments. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Erin Fisher, Cris Lankenau, (more)
American independent filmmaker Joe Swanberg's 2007 feature Hannah Takes the Stairs concerns Hannah (Greta Gerwig), a recent college graduate who spends one long, unsatisfying summer in the Windy City attempting to achieve romantic fulfillment in a seemingly endless series of relationships. Drifting in and out of infatuation, but never quite reaching satisfaction, Hannah begins to pose an emotional threat to herself and those around her. The picture co-stars filmmakers Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha) and Todd Rohal (The Guatemalan Handshake) as well as screenwriter Kent Osborne (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie). Gerwig co-authored the script with Osborne and Swanberg. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Gerwig, Kent Osborne, (more)
The constant need to be plugged in and connected threatens to crash the real-life operating system of three technologically obsessed twentysomethings in director Joe Swanberg's humorous meditation on the relationship between man and machine in modern society. Tim does computer work for a living, but he also lives for his computer. Unfortunately his inability to snap the lid closed on his laptop is rapidly alienating his girlfriend Ada, who recognizes Tim's apparent inability to communicate with other people without the buffer of technology. Meanwhile, as struggling musician Alex obsesses over a girl he met on an adult website, a flesh-and-blood girl named Walter does her best to make her attraction to Alex known. Lastly, Chris has transferred from New York to Chicago due to the demands of his job, making a long-distance relationship with his East-coast girlfriend Greta increasingly difficult to maintain. Though the pair talks constantly on their cell phones while also sending cell-phone pictures to one another, neither Chris nor Greta can deny that their reliance on technology in sustaining their relationship is no substitute for the living, breathing warmth of human companionship. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Bewersdorf, Joe Swanberg, (more)
The low-budget, direct-to-video erotic drama Kissing on the Mouth explores the erogenous trials and travails of a clique of college grads. It concerns Ellen, a young woman sleeping with her ex-boyfriend and bucking his attempts to re-instigate a serious romantic commitment. Meanwhile, she does her best to ignore the increasingly possessive and suspect behavior of her flatmate, Patrick. The film (shot by its cast) is marked by graphic sexual content and frank, explicit discussions of coital behavior. For added realism and authenticity, the directors work in a number of documentary-style interviews with college graduates. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
