Tiny Furniture

All writing, all acting, all directing Lena Dunham emerged sporadically into the small-screen scene just last year with her acclaimed television series GIRLS, which seems to have snowballed since its pilot to marmite status. Accordingly everyone seems to be looking at her earlier full length feature Tiny Furniture (2010). Like GIRLS it's about the not-knowing-what--you're-doing twenties. And this is also just as love or hate. 

The self-consciously self-pitying tagline 'Aura is having a very, very hard time' is an instant irritant which seems to perforate the tone of film. This is about someone feeling a little (or a lot) sorry for themselves about their indecision and incomprehension of what to do with the life-shaped elephant in the room. Ergo the lack of plot or direction, and the multitude of scenes of Aura sleeping, Aura looking mopey then going to sleep, and Aura waking up from sleep.  And another thing!: I know it's more realistic and god bless Lena Dunham for being imperfect like the rest of us, but half the time I found myself distracted by her insatiably knotty hair. 

I didn't feel drawn to Dunham's Aura. She's a different protagonist but I found her even more of a doormat than Hannah from GIRLS, and less funny. She lets guys walk all over her, specifically Jed, played by Alex Karpovsky who also stars in GIRLS (again, better character, there's a theme here), and some dude she meets at work. Both of whom, might I add, being neither sexy nor charming enough to justify letting them get away with their behaviour (if it was Jon Snow I'd understand). With Jed, Aura invites him to stay with her while he is in New York for a short period. This being an already over-friendly move considering she barely knows the guy, he proceeds to act like a total douche and she does not seem to mind. Here's a particularly irksome snippet which occurs after Aura's mother kicks him out when he's been staying more than a week:

Jed I feel like you should make sure you can deliver something before you promise it

Aura Well, I didn't like not deliver I mean you stayed in the house for a week, but I know you're totally right.

And yet, judging on the explicit doormat-syndrome we encounter here, it seems as though Dunham has deliberately framed her character in this way. Maybe we don't like seeing this behaviour because it in fact reminds us of our own weaknesses. Aura is imperfect not just by film character standards, but as in real life, normal person. She's a dick to her best friend, her mum, herself, but aren't we all. 

Tiny is raw and authentic as you like, with Dunham casting her own mother and sister to play her mother and sister, and filming it in their actual apartment. This possibly explains the grazing verisimilitude of their on-screen dynamic, with screechy-voice, nonsensical, often petty skirmishes reminiscent of my own experience of familial arguments. The sex scene in this is probably the most undignified thing I have ever seen. Moments after casually checking if he has AIDS, Aura and some loser she's been semi-chasing throughout the film get diggity in, in her own words, 'a pipe in the street'.  It's the low point of the film; you really feel her sense of self-disgust when she relays it to her mother afterwards. 

And yet, despite any criticism which can be made: nudity is brave, wretchedly awkward sex scenes are brave, disregarding hair and make up is brave. This must not be forgotten. What's more Dunham's writing is guillotine-sharp and sweetly perceptive. This was a progressive step towards GIRLS, a chrysalis if you will, one I  recommend to watch if you can handle the self-indulgent insularity of indie films.