Glasgow Film Festival 2015: Appropriate Behaviour
"That was a present," protests Shirin (writer/director/star Desiree Akhavan) when her girlfriend returns a mysterious box to her amidst an acrimonious break-up. The revelation that it contains a strap-on dildo should give audiences a fair idea of what to expect from Appropriate Behaviour. Reductively described by some as a Lena Dunham knock-off, it is admittedly another entry into the hip New York twenty-something subgenre. It is also, however, a frank and very funny debut from an interesting new talent.
Shirin is a bisexual Iranian-American who is still in the family closet and her relationship with her traditional parents makes for just one of the interesting dynamics probed as the film deadpans its way through myriad New York clichés. The structure flits back and forth from the gradual destruction of Shirin’s relationship and her attempts to pick up the pieces – or sweep them under the carpet. Constructed with equally assured precision is an evening that combines a squirm-inducing date and a failed threesome to deliver both awkward laughs and subtle characterisation.