Appropriate Behavior

Appropriate Behavior (2015) is an indie tragicomedy you can watch online on iFILM. Desiree Akhavan wrote it, directed it, and stars as Shirin — the daughter of Persian immigrants caught between hip Brooklyn and everything her family expects of her.

Shirin is bisexual, though her parents have no idea, and her recent ex Maxine never grasped why she stayed quiet about it. Fresh out of the breakup, she throws herself into a mess of awkward dates, blunt hookups, and a job teaching filmmaking to five-year-olds who can't sit still. The story keeps jumping back and forth in time, reassembling a dead relationship from its pieces while tracking how exhausting it is to be the "right" version of yourself for everyone at once.

Akhavan films herself without vanity and without a pose, letting dry self-mockery carry the comedy instead of gags. The debut often gets compared to early Lena Dunham, only sharper and more pointed about living a double identity. It'll click with anyone who likes honest low-budget films about twentysomethings who don't know what they want. Stream Appropriate Behavior (2015) online on iFILM.