Parents' Guide to 6 Years

Movie NR 2015 85 minutes
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Common Sense Media Review

Grace Montgomery By Grace Montgomery , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 17+

Indie romance has domestic violence, lots of sex, drinking.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 17+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 16+

Based on 4 parent reviews

age 17+

Based on 2 kid reviews

What's the Story?

Mel (Taissa Farmiga) and Dan (Ben Rosenfield), almost college graduates, have been together since high school. To the amazement of their friends, the two are still in love after six years and are planning their lives together once they get out of school. But when Dan starts getting closer to his music-industry coworkers, especially his boss Amanda (Lindsay Burdge), and Mel's drinking starts to get out of control, their relationship takes a dark turn that neither of them expects.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 4 ):
Kids say ( 2 ):

Although Farmiga and Rosenfield do an admirable job of portraying two people in the midst of emotional crisis, this tense romance too often delves into melodrama to be a great film. There's also too much time spent showing the two leads drinking with their friends and not enough time spent developing their relationship, leaving the viewer wondering why Dan was with Mel in the first place. The film does a good job of showing the consequences of excessive drinking, especially paired with the heightened emotions of youth and inexperience. But it mostly serves up a lot of tension with no real resolution or point.

Although parents may appreciate the underlying message to not jump to conclusions and that abuse isn't always inflicted by men, this is probably not a movie they'd want their teens watching. And adults may be dissatisfied by the melodramatic dialogue and lack of character development.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about domestic violence. What should you do if you suspect your friend or someone you know is being abused by his or her partner?

  • 6 Years delves into the decisions you make in college and how they affect your life. Do you think it's more important to follow your career goals at that point in your life? Or should you follow your heart?

  • Do you think the movie depicts college life realistically? Why, or why not?

  • How does the movie portray drinking? What are the consequences of overindulging?

Movie Details

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