Written, directed by and starring Desiree Akhavan, APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR tells the story of Shirin, an Iranian-American bisexual struggling to come to terms with her break up from her girlfriend Maxine (Rebecca Henderson). Shirin goes through an identity crisis as she tries to balance her hip Brooklyn existence with the expectations of her traditionalist Persian parents. This is made worse by the announcement that her brother, a respectable doctor, is set to marry. Meanwhile, Shirin – single and struggling for work – is forced to take a job teaching unruly five year olds film-making techniques.

Depressed and on the rebound, Shirin embarks on a journey of sexual discovery in an attempt to get over her lost lover. She begins perusing internet dating sites, and at the trendy bars and cafés of Brooklyn’s suburbs she engages in a number of sexual conquests with men, women and sometimes both at the same time. Along the way, she meets a collective of hipsters including sandcastle artists, bearded men sporting octopus chest tattoos and promiscuous swingers with pink latex sex suits. However, her experiences leave her unfulfilled and she returns to the idea of winning Maxine back.

The film is structured by continuous flashbacks. Akhavan cuts between the present, showing Shirin’s lonely marauding through New York’s gay scene, and the past, with scenes of the fractious arguments that lead to the break-up. These mainly revolve around Maxine’s frustration with Shirin’s reluctance to come out to her conservative parents. The character of Shirin is well written and provides a likeable perspective on single life in the busy world of 21st century New York.

The film’s dry tone and wry humour is pleasant in patches…

Akhavan delivers an accomplished performance as the awkwardly funny, bumbling wannabe socialite. Rebecca Henderson as Maxine, the self-assured lesbian, is equally as good and both actors provide a magnetic chemistry as the bickering couple. It is the supporting characters, too often on the periphery, that appear under developed and two dimensional. Though the script is at times witty and clever, with delightful off-beat banter between the main players, certain hipster clichés are stretched beyond the realm of believability. The film’s dry tone and wry humour is pleasant in patches, but induces only titters; the deadpan deliveries occasionally fall flat.

Be that as it may, the film has a few stand-out scenes, such as the fascinatingly awkward threesome encounter, and a bizarre yet amusing section in a lingerie boutique. Akhavan’s debut is both charming and enjoyable, but certainly benefits from its short run time.

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