LOL

LOL (2006) is Joe Swanberg's lo-fi indie comedy-drama, free to watch online on iFILM. Three twenty-something guys in Chicago whose love lives have migrated entirely into screens.

Tim would rather chat with his girlfriend over a laptop than actually show up. Chris runs his whole relationship by cell phone. Alex meets a woman at a party, then lets online chatrooms pull him away from her. It's pure mumblecore — handheld camera, improvised talk, non-actors playing close to themselves. Greta Gerwig, long before Lady Bird, turns up in one of her earliest screen roles.

Swanberg shot this in 2006, well ahead of the smartphone era, yet he nailed the ache of it: more ways to connect, less actual connecting. A tiny-budget film for anyone who likes their indie raw and unpolished. Stream LOL (2006) online on iFILM.