Appropriate Behaviour (Akhavan, 2014): Rio Cinema, 8.30pm
This is part of the excellent Rio Forever season at the Rio Cinema.
Time Out review:
Thirty-year-old New Yorker Desiree Akhavan writes, directs and stars in
this indie feature. She plays Shirin, an Iranian-American hipster trying
to recover from a break-up with her girlfriend. There are shades of
‘Girls’ here (Akhavan and Lena Dunham are buddies in real life, and the
rising star appears in the new season). But ‘Appropriate Behaviour’
isn’t all knowing LOLs; there’s a satisfying depth and heart here that’s
more in line with ‘Annie Hall’. In flashbacks we watch Shirin’s
relationship with her ex sputter into life and run a wobbly course to
its ignominious end (‘You’re ruining my birthday! You’re ruining my
twenties!’). Shirin’s awkwardness may be fashionable, but it’s not
affected – she’s genuinely scared to confess her bisexuality to her
conservative Iranian parents, and doesn’t remotely fit in at her family
circle’s Persian parties, any more than she suits the supposedly
confidence-boosting bustier she’s coaxed into wearing at a fancy
lingerie store. For all the brazen charms of this warm and funny
debut, though, its quieter moments signal a profundity that’s really
worth getting excited about.
Sophie Harris
Here (and above) is the trailer.
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