Review of Tiny Furniture (2010) by Trailesque — 28 Sep 2022

There are not a lot of films about the average girls, the ones who are not beautiful or brilliant, who get treated badly by men, and who don't know what to do with their lives - but here is one. This is low key, realistic cinema, focusing on a young woman who is just home from college and struggling to get a foothold in the world. She is overshadowed by her mother, a successful art photographer, and has to contend with her snappy sister. In addition, she needs a job and a plan for the future, and she wants to get together with a guy (or two). Our heroine Aura has her flaws. For example, even as she is used as free room and board by a show biz dreamer (who is usually shown holding a book by Woody Allen, clearly a bad sign) and as a quickie lay by a hipster, she callously disappoints her best friend from college.

This is very much a young woman's movie, focusing on the ladies and their conflicts and desires. There is a subtle humor in many of the scenes, which is a strong point imo. The story reaches an end more than a conclusion, and we are left feeling uncertain of how things will go for Aura in the long run - but that is often the way in real life.