Uncle Kent | Review

Uncle Kent, Joe Swanberg’s latest feature, and first to screen at Sundance, is “classic” Swanberg. The filmmaker remains one of the only successful (arguably) “auteurs” to continue to make films in his own way rather than commercializing them. Polarizing as always, fans will love Uncle Kent, and the rest just won’t get why it is a movie at all. Swanberg is clearly content with this, and thankfully, he’s a pro at what he does.

The story in this one is simple. Kent (Osborne) is a lonely 40 year-old with a boring life. He spends a lot of time with his cat and has more masturbating rituals than sexual partners. He meets Jennifer (Jennifer Prediger) on chat roulette who comes to stay with him. He wants to have sex with her but she wants to be friends, except very flirty friends. Swanberg takes the classic story of a pair where one wants more than the other out of the relationship and tosses in topical context.

Entertaining without any major revelations, this is more like you nod your head and think yep, that happened to me or I know that guy — it’s a form of self-reflection and self-deprecation. It’s Swanberg and Osborne telling us two things. One, we’re all the same. Two, we’re not so special—don’t take yourself so seriously.

Uncle Kent is indeed classic Swanberg on screen, but behind the scenes, unlike other Swanberg films, it’s really just Swanberg and longtime collaborator Kent Osborne. Notably missing are frequent collaborators, producer Anish Savjani, and cinematographer Ben Kasulke. This makes sense in a way though, for Swanberg has focused his literal and metaphorical lens on one individual for this story rather than his previous films which are usually ensemble pieces, or a couple in the case of Nights & Weekends. Apart from Osborne, Kevin Bewersdorf (Wah Do Dem and many other Swanberg films) plays his friend (credited only as “Kev”), and newcomer Jennifer Prediger plays Osborne’s love interest.

It’s really a matter of opinion how one values Swanberg’s artistry and craftsmanship. Often, a film being relatable and topical is considered a positive trait, and subtlety is cheered. With Swanberg, his subtle hand is his death knell to the mainstream audiences.He certainly does not pull any big camera tricks. The film is not notable for it’s visuals in any way whatsoever. The most he will do is use some shadows to create silhouettes out of his characters. He’s done this in his last few films. It’s like someone using the camera for the first time and trying out new things, then being really impressed when he discovers the rule of thirds. There is little indication of any deeper meaning to these silhouette shots beyond just simply that he thought them aesthetically pleasing. Swanberg also likes to shoot through doors, but I doubt this is a nod to John Ford. It’s likely just because he has to given his locations.

Again though, it’s a matter of taste. Swanberg is not attempting to impress with his visuals. These are movies that he’s making to illuminate something that he and his peers are going through, really to be shared amongst just them. It’s an added bonus that some others watch this. The camera in his films simply covers the dialogue. There is zero cinematic grammar going on here.

The other side of it is the cinema verité or direct cinema schools. Depending on whom you ask, many of those filmmakers are striving for “authenticity” and sometimes trying to be “a fly on the wall.” Would this be the scripted narrative version of verité? Much of it is improvised, so we even arguably get those Bressonian “decisive moments.”

With Uncle Kent, Joe Swanberg adds another solid title to his oeuvre. This will not gain him any new fans, but it will certainly satisfy his old ones. This one pretty much answers the question about whether or not he will ever change his style—apparently not. Either way, Swanberg is not losing any steam, and he has enough fan base to continue making strong, even if niche, efforts like Uncle Kent for a long time to come.

Reviewed at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Park City at Midnight World Dramatic Competition Section.

72 Mins. January, 21st, 2011

Rating 3.5 stars