Lena Dunham is a young woman who obviously talked her mother and sister into this, and while the results are mixed, sometimes fascinating and sometimes boring, we learn a lot about these three women in "Tiny Furniture," which opens here today. Dunham wrote, directed and stars in the rudimentary, often erratic tale; her younger sister, Grace, portrays her younger sister, named Nadine for the movie, and their mother, the artist Laurie Simmons, plays Mom, known as Siri in the movie.
And yet, Lena exposes herself completely, both literally and figuratively, in her tale. The question, of course, is how close to the truth this story may be, but it doesn't make any difference. Whether Aura (the name she gives herself) is Lena or not, she's a mostly interesting person, and like many 20-somethings, she's not afraid to take risks, in the movie and while making the movie.
Aura has just finished college, and she returns to the Manhattan apartment of her childhood, rejoining Mom and the high-school age Nadine. It's a multi-level, stylish apartment that Siri uses a a studio for her photography as well as a home. Aura is looking for work, but not very seriously, and she's re-connecting with old friends, like the blunt-talking, pot-smoking Charlotte (a terrific Jemima Franke), or Jed (Alex Karpovsky), a hustling deadbeat who moves in with Aura while Mom is out of town, eats the food, drinks the wine, shares her bed (without sex), and generally makes himself comfortable.
Aura gets a job as a hostess in a restaurant around the corner, and meets the chef, Keith (a very good David Call). There is some interest, but Keith has a live-in girl friend, so she might as well be involved with a married man. He stands her up one night, but she forgives him, and the next time they get together, it turns into a funny scene as they try to consummate the relationship inside an extra-large, empty section of culvert that is in a vacant lot.
Listening to Aura and Siri discussing this later is even funnier.
Dunham is anything but self-conscious in front of the camera. She wanders around the apartment in various stages of dress and undress, apparently uncaring about her appearance, which is as far as possible from move-star style. Dunham, and the character she created and is portraying, is extremely realistic, struggling to find herself and her life. Friction between her and her sister reminds me of my own daughters when they were growing up.
"Tiny Furniture," which describes the photographic art work that Siri does, has its problems, but it introduces Lena Dunham as someone who knows what questions to ask and how and when to ask them.
Tiny Furniture opens today at the Tivoli
—Joe