Review of 6 Years (2015) by Inta K — 20 Aug 2015

Can you handle the truth?

If you can and want it, then Hannah Fidell's often startling film is something you will not want to miss.

"6 Years" is not an obvious film, but it offers a great deal of insight into the messiness of the human condition. Taissa Farmiga and Ben Rosenfield give heart-breaking and brutally realistic performances as a young, but long-time committed couple. After six years each of their respective and mutually-shared lives are about to take a dramatic turn.

The question Fidell's film poses is not "Will they be able to make it work?" The question here is "Should they even try to make it work?".

As in "real life" - the answer is not simplistic or easy to face.

"6 Years" explores a relationship from a perspective that few filmmakers have been willing to take. This film isn't aiming to provoke. It aims to be honest.

Farmiga, in a role that comes close to equaling the skill of her older sister, plays a young woman with some very serious issues. As kind and loving as "Mel" is, she can be equally abusive. It doesn't take long to realize that this beautiful and seemingly petit woman has very little control over her anger and frustration.

Thanks to the filmmaker's script, direction and her leading actors' skills -- this topic does not have to be discussed or overly analyzed.

The movie presents the male of the relationship as the one who is actually the most vulnerable. "Dan" has no recourse. He has no way of protecting himself. He could, but to do so could harm the person he loves and could potentially crash his entire future.

Ben Rosenfield's performance is the magic of the film. He is able to portray "Dan" in a compelling mix of love, hurt, fear, anger and confusion. This is an actor to watch.

This is not your average cinematic "love story." But this is most certainly about two people who are very much in love. And it is probably more realistic than most of us are used to seeing.

Hannah Fidell, comes close to capturing the brutal realities captured several years ago by Derek Cianfrance's "Blue Valentine." However, she does not need to veer into graphic sexuality and the land of the "un-erotic.".

Interestingly, the one thing that prevents this film from reaching the cinematic prowess of Cianofrance's "Blue Valentine" is also the thing that makes "6 Years" an important and unique film: The use of romantic tone. Within the first few minutes, Hannah Fidell drenches "6 Years" in romance .

This is not a mistake. It is a smart choice.

The sunlit-kissed and dewy world of "6 Years" both informal and reminds us that we are entering that magical and exhilarating feeling of first love. And this is true love. These two people have not yet forged forward enough into life to be fully weary, tired or jaded.

They are young and full of promise. The power of their connection resonates and entices.

So when our two protagonists come to the crucial moment of answering the film's question, it makes the reality of the film all the more potent. This is an exceptional movie.