Appropriate Behavior Film Review

Transcript:

Appropriate Behavior is a drama-comedy which was written and directed by, and stars, Desiree Akhavan. In the film Akhavan plays Shirin; a young woman who is trying, and failing, to simultaneously become the ideal Persian daughter, a politically correct bisexual and a hip young Brooklynite.

Now if you've watched much indie cinema or television about twenty-something's in the last ten years then you know what you're in for. Awkward outcast who is more confident than they should be making awful life decisions set to the hip backdrop of New York.

That said it's great to see this story told from the bottom up by a woman about a woman who also happens to be a bi-sexual Persian/American. It lends the story a unique perspective and provides representation to certain sections of society that are too often ignored in cinema which is something to praise in of itself.

Akhavan and the rest of the cast do a very good job of selling this premise and there's a good amount of laughs to be had at the expense of the characters they play. Formally the film isn't anything to shout home about but has very nice warm, shadowy cinematography and the editing – which switches between the past and the present – is nicely handled.

There are certain moments that stand out as being particularly emotionally insightful, such as when Shirin has a threesome with two strangers, and these give the film some nice dramatic gravity. That said the focus of the film is very much of the 'first world problem' set and I can see this turning a lot of viewers off. 

It also suffers, as already mentioned, in comparison to a lot of the stuff going on in the indie scene at the moment and overall doesn't do enough to set itself apart and say something new or different. Likewise the thematic topics at hand here are very interesting - struggling with an alternative sexuality, cultural ignorance and and the resulting familial friction in the face of both these issues - but the film doesn't dig far enough into them to make an impact.

Even though it was a little bit too familiar I liked Appropriate Behavior and I'm going to give it a 6/10. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes, and has room for more, stuff like Girls, Broad City, Frances Ha or Annie Hall.

If you've seen the film please let me know what you thought of it and feel free to subscribe for more reviews coming soon.