Appropriate Behaviour (2014)
Cast: Desiree Akhavan, Rebecca Henderson, Scott Adsit
Director: Desiree Akhavan
Country: UK
Genre: Comedy
Editor’s Notes: The following review is part of our coverage of the Sydney Film Festival. For more information visit www.sff.org.au and follow the Sydney Film Festival on Twitter at @sydfilmfest.
Appropriate Behaviour is one of those rare gems that truly surprises you. On the surface, this coming of age/coming out tale appears like something we may have seen before. The elements that make up the story are certainly familiar: the main character trying to get her life together, dysfunctional family, dating woes, all with a New York City backdrop. You would probably need to hands to count the number of times this has been done. But sometimes a fresh perspective can go a long way. With Appropriate Behavior, that perspective is profound.
Appropriate Behaviour is one of those rare gems that truly surprises you. On the surface, this coming of age/coming out tale appears like something we may have seen before.
Shirin (Desiree Akhavan) is a bundle of minorities woven into one person. She is a Persian female bi-sexual floundering in the wake of her recent break up with Maxine (Rebecca Henderson). The couple made it a year, but the cracks began to form fairly quickly. Shirin not being out to her traditional parents was the major strain and what eventually broke them. As Shirin awkwardly tries to get her life back together, which includes a new job teaching five-year-olds how to be film makers, moving into a dingy apartment with alternative room mates and attempting to get Maxine back, we see flashbacks of how the relationship went down the drain.
The most profound thing writer/director Desiree Akhavan has done is treat her character like an equal. She may be a person whose background and sexuality is rarely portrayed on film, but instead of stomping her foot and saying “look how different I am, give me screen time”, she takes the opposite approach. Akhavan shows us how “normal” it is to be a minority. Her Persian background is mentioned and customs and traditions explained, but they do not define her. Nor does her sexuality. She functions without those parts of her being seen as obstacles that must be overcome to be happy.
Akhavan’s handling of her characters is admirable, but it is also her wit that makes this film sparkle. The dialogue often sounds sitcom-y but it is consistently hilarious. Appropriate Behavior could be the next step in the evolution of cinema and the portrayal of minorities on screen. While there is plenty of room for stories of all backgrounds and nationalities to be explored and celebrated on film, there is also space for them to be seen as equals. This could open up the possibility that it is done far more frequently.
Akhavan's handling of her characters is admirable, but it is also her wit that makes this film sparkle. The dialogue often sounds sitcom-y but it is consistently hilarious. Appropriate Behavior could be the next step in the evolution of cinema and the portrayal of minorities on screen.
