Review of Tiny Furniture (2010) by Ronald S — 30 Jul 2010

In earlier installments of this blog series, I had said that Cyrus was my favorite film from the festival. Well, honestly, I don't know if that's necessarily true and it's only because of this film right here.

Tiny Furniture tells the story of a young woman named Aura, played by the film's writer/director Lena Dunham, fresh out of college and who has moved back to New York City to live with her mother and sister. She went to school in Ohio for film and has had moderate YouTube success with one video. She's lost and doesn't know where to go from here.

What I love right off the bat is that this is a film about this woman who isn't necessarily drop dead gorgeous (though she is cute), isn't really looking for a relationship, and is trying to figure out the next step in her life. It's really feminist in that regard. The next step isn't to find a man who could possibly figure it all out for her like many movies with female leads showcase. It's about her taking control of her emotions and desires. It's an amazing character piece in that regard.

Every character in her life is fully realized and the actors playing them are brilliant, especially the mother and sister played by Dunham's own family members. There's a chemistry there that couldn't be present if it were not for them being related. The other characters represent different parts of Aura's life and give layers to the emotions represented. It's just an all around great cast who know how to mix the drama and comedy really well.

For this only being Lena Dunham's second feature, she has a hell of a future ahead of her that I'm currently really jealous of. Her film was a huge inspiration for me and I hope to have similar success.