Didn’t that movie about DFW himself have a slight resemblance to his books?

Yeah, A Serious Man is one I guess I'd say, but you've mentioned the Coen Brothers. Some Haneke like Happy Ending fits, I think. Force Majeure and some Ruben Ostland. Altman has a few that might work too. Shortcuts, Nashville, Kansas City and some others. Definitely would not say The End of the Tour though.

I don't especially enjoy Jason Segel or Jessie Eisenberg; but I really enjoyed them in End of the tour - which is about a series of conversations between David Foster Wallace and a journalist who is interviewing him right as he becomes David Foster Wallace.

This:

>The plots tend to consist of a lot of backstory and setup leading to or centered around one event

is a pretty basic scheme for understanding all narrative, so - triangulating from this:

>Coen Bros and Martin McDonagh

You might like the Hesses (Napoleon Dynnamite, Nacho libre, Gentlemen broncos, Austenland), pre-MCU Taikka Waiti (Eagle vs Shark, Boy), early Wes Anderson (Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums), and Steve Conrad (the Promotion and Patriot).

Also, I'm not sure I see DFW in his tv work, but you might also consier that Michael Schur (co-created the Office, Parks and Rec, the Good place, etc) is a huge DFW fan.

The end of the tour is a god awful movie. The book was not bad but do not watch the movie. It's 2hrs straight of cringe.

Lil bit. As a fan I watched it, though I could barely get through it because the grief of his loss hit me pretty hard while watching. Good film.

I don’t disagree with what you say about narrative. To be more precise, I should have mentioned that the backstorys of particular characters in DFW novels are almost their own story. A character might spend the majority of the plot in the background, then get an entire chapter dedicated to their childhood or some other traumatic even that informs who they are. Not sure if this helps, but I enjoy thinking about it.

Thank you for your comment. Big fan of the Hesses and early Wes Anderson. And now that you mention it, I think The Good Place fits nicely in this genre. A good reminder for me to rewatch it.

Have you seen any of Charlie Kaufman's films? I haven't read DFW, but I've seen Synecdoche, New York compared a lot to his work.

Try The Player. Great Altman movie.

I could be way off as I have only finished DFW short pieces (cruise line, etc)…. But perhaps Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Inherent Vice” which is a Thomas Pynchon story.

I think it would be almost impossible to make a film in the vein of Infinite Jest, or what was completed of The Pale King.

I think the closest you will likely come are the films of David Lynch, especially Blue Velvet. I believe Wallace himself wrote about Lynch and was an admirer.

Reading his essay on Blue Velvet greatly enhanced my enjoyment of that movie.

It seems like you've dug further into the subject than I have. The only other possibility that comes to mind for me is the Luis Bunuel film The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. This may be a little more on the surreal side than some of the others films mentioned here, again I think Bunuel and the film 'movement' he was associated with is in a sense parodied in Infinite Jest.

I think the Coen Bros and PTA are natural comparisons. I’d second David Lynch, as others mentioned, and add Jim Jarmusch and Bong Joon Ho. Parasite and The Host are both darkly comedic. Terry Gilliam I’d another director I’d throw out too.