6 Years

Hannah Fidell writes and directs her third feature film 6 Years, a film about the youngest love and what happens when it arrives at a pivotal crossroads.

We all know someone or have experienced that first love, it feels ideal and true, almost too much so, and 6 Years examines that relationship when the persons in the relationship begin to evolve.

6 Years could not be more indie in content if it tried. Okay, that's a bold faced lie, but it is very 'indie'. It has a mundane but appreciable quality in its grasp on real and un-exaggerated relationship dynamics. The events that transpire are unremarkable but contain weight and merit in their impact on the couple, Dan and Mel. Mundane is not necessarily bad, however those wishing to use cinema as a form of escapism should look elsewhere.

Both Hannah Fidell's writing and the performances of Taissa Farmiga and Ben Rosenfield make 6 Years incredibly engaging and honest. The characters are flawed, neither innocent as their relationship becomes increasingly volatile, and at times they can be purely irredeemable. Their emotions are pure and some more elder actors might learn a thing or two from these gifted talents.

Less experienced independent film watchers tend to have a problem with complex characters who exist rather than trying to win over the audience. Further, when it comes down to the plot and drama in the film, it is quite youthful in its simplicity. Twenty-somethings should be able to see themselves in the film and appreciate its sincere approach to love and relationships.

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This is just a very slow movie, with an ending that you can predict right from the start. The actors are not very convincing and nothing really interesting happens. All the characters do is drink and party, but even that is not fun to watch. The hipster friends/colleagues are just downright annoying to watch, but I guess that makes them realistic.

The only positive I can think of is that you could turn this into a drinking game, for every time somebody says "what the f?!". That seems to be the only line, and pretty much every character says it all the time. Probably true to life, but a bit boring to watch.

While it starts off, relatively cheerful and upbeat, the protagonists (Taissa Farminga and Ben Rosenfield), play a young couple in college who have supposedly been together for 6 years. There relationship is whimsical at best, fleetingly showing any signs of chemistry or real passion towards one another.

While yes, this is an indie picture, the timing and plot are unerringly slow and nonsensical.

The supporting cast, are awful. Not helped by your immediate disdain for their characters, while Farminga's college friends play a highly stereotypical 'white girl wasted' college students, they do not grate as much as Rosenfields, 'hipster', work colleagues. In what world, would any self-respecting, reasonable audience member watching this film believe that firstly, they resemble anything similar to a real person, let alone this aloof, "bring us another beer" cool, music, hipster adults.

While, the main protagonists are certainly in appearance alone OK for this film, they're acting is not. Farminga spends the whole film either crying, or touching her hair. I would love to know how many times she literally ran her hands through her hair in this film, but that would mean I would have to watch the film once more.

Overall, I would definitely give this film a miss, the fact that Netflix spent £1m, buying the rights to this film, show's only that they are too successful.

6 Years is a movie that feels more like a draft than a final product. Everything feels underdeveloped, especially the two leads. Mel and Dan are both awful people, and it feels like Hannah Fidell herself doesn't empathize with her characters. These are the people we're supposed to at least be invested in, but what's the point if neither the filmmaker nor the audience likes these people or wants them to be together? I get that this isn't a love story, but there still should be a certain level of empathy for the characters. However, there is none, and they're both careless without any sense of self-awareness.

To be fair, Taissa Farmiga and Rosenfield both do very well with the material they're given. They improvised just about everything, though they couldn't do much beyond what Fidell gave them. Even though I'm writing this a few years after the film's release, I still hope they have lasting careers. They're believable as a couple, and they sell the final scene.

I also think Fidell herself deserves some credit for exploring unhealthy relationships. Though I think it could have been done much better, unhealthy relationships are not often portrayed outside the Lifetime lens, so for her to create complex characters in this situation deserves commendation.

Do I recommend it? I dunno. I cried when I watched it, but that was likely because I'd just had a breakup. If you've got time to kill, go for it, but it's not going to be the thought-provoking, life-altering experience it clearly wants to be.

I can see why many people disliked this movie. It's a representation of life without filters, without a happy ending, just life. If you've been in a long-term relationship, you'll like this film. I've always loved Taissa's acting, and this is no disappointment. I think she does a great job with real-life characters, she's believable. Overall this movie seemed so realistic to me, not just for the plot: their reactions, the way they carried themselves, the people around them. It's the representation of real life drama, without exaggeration or fantasy. It kind of reminded me of Boyhood in the sense that it follows a story very close to reality. I enjoyed it.