Tiny Furniture (2010)

Once we got accustomed to the tinny video-like sound, we were captivated by this tiny movie about a narcissistic college grad coming home to live with her mother and sister in TriBeCa. Lena Dunham directs, wrote, and stars as Aura, and her real mother, photographer Laurie Simmons, and sister Grace Dunham play Aura's mom, photographer Siri, and sister Nadine, respectively. The gorgeous book-filled New York apartment is, in fact, the apartment in which Lena and Grace grew up and where Simmons lives now. Lena went to Oberlin in northern Ohio, and Aura repeatedly says she was in college in Ohio, but not in a good way. You'd think she'd give the state a bit more respect. Her character is awkward, overweight, and not afraid of nudity. This movie is not for kids; it has a sex scene that rivals the one in Greenberg for a cringe factor of 8 to Greenberg's 11 on a scale of 10.

One of the co-stars is Merritt Wever (she was in Greenberg, Into the Wild (2007), The Messenger, and more, but is probably best known for the awkward assistant on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and awkward nurse Zoey on Nurse Jackie on Showtime), as Aura's friend from college, and she could easily have played this part, except she's got a slim figure under her round face and Lena's unspoken confidence in her curves is important to the character. Simmons is severe and Grace Dunham is lovely, and I do wonder how the movie would have played with more experienced actresses in their parts. However, Jemima Kirke, in her feature debut as Charlotte, is remarkable in her self-described self-entitlement. David Call (he was in a feature called Beautiful Ohio (2006) that I didn't see, and a number of other things) is perfect as the Chef, one of the unsuitable men in Aura's life.

You can read more about the cast and crew and download the original soundtrack on the movie's website (it's good--I'm listening to it now), but I'm glad I went in without having seen the trailer. And the press kit, available on the website, gives away everything. Lena Dunham's first feature, Creative Nonfiction (2009) was 60 minutes long, so I guess it's officially not a feature. I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next. This was, according to the website, shot on a Canon 7D, an HD SLR still/video camera, which may explain the sound. Nonetheless, it's a solid movie with a great script, nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards (Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay, and Best Cinematography by Jody Lee Lipes, who is in a scene as the busboy), and you should see it.