Since the premiere of middle class polymath Lena Dunham’s Girls in 2012, there has been an ever-growing swell of female filmmakers and showrunners. With familiar Brooklyn environs and a semi-autobiographical approach, Appropriate Behavior will likely garner comparisons to its televisual cousin, but its uncompromising and hilarious look at heartbreak and self-actualisation doesn’t wallow in the same narcissistic shallows. With a script overflowing with well-observed takedowns of liberal arts grads weaned on apathy (‘What is up with your placid disinterest in everything!?’), DIY overachievers and the obsessively politically correct, Desiree Akhaven’s feature debut as director/writer/star is an idiosyncratic delight.

We meet an exhausted and exasperated Shirin (Akhaven) days after her breakup from Maxine (Rebecca Henderson). Scrambling to get her life in order she moves into a questionable flat, takes a job she is under-qualified for teaching six-year-olds how to make films, avoids the issue of the breakup with her traditional Iranian parents and searches thanklessly for an appropriate rebound. The demise of the relationship casts a spectre over the film through well-timed flashbacks, as her recovery from heartbreak runs in tandem to the story of her falling in, and out, of love. While the film is very funny, Akhaven’s strength as a director is in crafting incredibly telling dialogue free moments. From an unsatisfying threesome, to awkward silences on an impromptu date, to Shirin’s struggle to be comfortable around her family. The intimacy can be jarring, but the poignancy is refreshing.

Akhaven’s portrayal of Shirin is the film’s strongest – making a self-destructive misanthrope an engaging hero is hardly easy work. The supporting cast is strong though, particularly Arian Moayed, who plays Shirin’s older surgeon brother, and Rebecca Henderson who is tasked with the thankless role of the ex, Maxine.

Appropriate Behavior’s preoccupation is heartbreak, but the film is ultimately about overcoming the sense of fraudulence many people face in their 20s. Inspiring and refreshing, I look forward to seeing what cringe inducing life crisis Akhaven deconstructs next.

Showing as part of Glasgow Film Festival 2015