Review of Tiny Furniture (2010) by Arelis R — 23 Aug 2012

Independent comedy with dramatic touches set in New York following the steps of young Aura, a girl that has just finished her useless degree in film theory in a far away university and is trying to find her way around Manhattan again. But Aura seems âcursedâ?: her boyfriend left her, her hamster dies, her job in the local restaurant is a dead end and her romantic interests turn out to be pure disasters. Aura feels diminished by the success of her famous artist/photographer mother and her literate younger sister. But more worryingly, all she does is telling herself everything is fine.

It is a bit off the wall movie, at some point you donâ(TM)t really know whatâ(TM)s the message or where the story is meant to take you. I do understand why the writer, director and main lead, Lena Dunham, has been compared with Woody Allen, there is an underlying sense of humour, an odd, existentialist behaviour and New York as yet another character in the film, but in here we donâ(TM)t get to see an up beat outcome, it is more like an slice of Auraâ(TM)s life, a sorry and selfish slice, there is no end as such.

It is interesting to see how somebody can produce a film with a few resources, Auraâ(TM)s mum and sister are played by Lena Dunham real mother and sister. And most of the footage was shot in Lenaâ(TM)s family home in New York. I loved the decoration of the houses, the high ceilings, the open spaces, the colourful art hanging from the walls, it has a true Manhattan flavour. I liked the fact that the characters are odd but feel real. This film is not outstanding but is a remarkable feat for somebody so young and inexperienced.