Earliest Examples of Mumblecore Movies?
 

It's characterized by naturalistic acting and dialogue (sometimes improvised), low-budget film production, an emphasis on dialogue.

John Cassavetes is the first director I thought about, especially "Minnie and Moskowitz" and probably all his 70s stuff, but also Vincent Gallo's "Buffalo '66", where you have Ben Gazzarra playing the father, who was part of the Cassavetes troupe, which is why I think Vincent Gallo got him on board.

Would a synonym also be "neo-realism"? (A term often used for Cassavetes films.)

An essential element of mumblecore is to deliver all of the lines like questions? But they're not really questions? Just accentuating the uncertainty, kinda? Of the characters? Like they're lost in life? Aimless? Just trying to figure it out? Maybe there'll be answers? If we keep talking like questions?

Re: Earliest Examples of Mumblecore Movies?
 

David Ball's Honey (1999) is said to be one of the first.

Perhaps, but I think some would think of 1940s Italian neo-realism by Vittorio De Sica, Luchino Visconti, Rosselini, etc...