Pre-production

In June 2014, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Hannah Fidell had written and directed a relationship drama film, set for release in 2015.^[7] The feature was produced by Kelly Williams, Andrew Logan and Jonathan Duffy, and executive produced by Mark and Jay Duplass through their production company Duplass Brothers Productions.^[8] Fidell had been approached by Mark Duplass to make a film depicting a young couple experiencing domestic violence, which appealed to her.^[9] On June 12, 2014, after filming for the project was already complete, it was revealed that Taissa Farmiga and Ben Rosenfield play the leading roles, Melanie Clark and Dan Mercer, respectively.^[1] That same day, it was also reported that Peter Vack, Joshua Leonard, Jennifer Lafleur, and Lindsay Burdge have supporting roles in the film.^[2] Before filming began, Fidell and the two main actors (Farmiga and Rosenfield) went to the Berkshires in Massachusetts to study the script outline and develop their characters.^[10] The film was untitled during pre-production and filming; its official title, 6 Years, was announced by Fidell through her Tumblr blog on September 3, 2014.^[11] Will Brittain was originally attached to portray the role of Will, but had to drop out at the last minute.^[9]

Filming

Principal photography for the film lasted approximately three weeks in Austin, Texas.^[12][8] Production began on March 17, 2014,^[13] and was completed on April 6, 2014.^[14][15] Filming took place at locations including the West Campus neighborhood,^[16] the University of Texas at Austin,^[17] and Wooten Elementary School.^[18] In July 2014, re-shoots on the film took place.^[19] Fidell revealed that she only wrote a 40-page treatment for the film, including visuals and tonal references, instead of writing a full script.^[20] In addition, only a few prominent scenes were written with dialogue already prepared for the actors; in other scenes, improvisation was heavily used.^[9] Farmiga stated that, for the duration of production, the cast and crew lived together in the house used for Mel's home in the film, in order to become comfortable with each other due to the intimate nature of the film.^[20]

Post-production

Film editing began while the project was still in the production phase,^[20] with Sofi Marshall and Carlos Marques-Marcet serving as editors. Fidell stated that the editing process was difficult due to the frequent use of improvisation throughout the film, which made it hard for continuity in the story.^[20] Stuck On On provided sound post-production services.^[21] In January 2015, Fidell revealed on her Twitter that sound mixing was underway,^[22] and at South by Southwest, Fidell stated that post-production had been completed a few weeks before the film's premiere at the festival.^[20]

Marketing

The official poster art for 6 Years was released by the IMDb on July 24, 2015.^[26] The official trailer was released exclusively by Yahoo! Movies on July 30, 2015.^[10] On August 17, 2015, Vulture.com released the first seven minutes of the film.^[27]

Release

The film had its world premiere on March 14, 2015 at South by Southwest Film Festival.^[28][29] On March 15, 2015, Netflix acquired global distribution rights, with plans that have been accomplished to release it on the streaming service later in that year.^[30] The film subsequently screened at the Maryland Film Festival and the 2015 Champs-Élysées Film Festival.^[31][4] In the late June of 2015, The Orchard acquired the domestic rights to 6 Years,^[23] and released it on video on demand in the United States on August 18, 2015.^[32] The film began streaming worldwide through Netflix on September 8, 2015.^[6]

Home media

The film was released on DVD in the United States on April 12, 2016 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.^[33][34]

Critical response

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 69% approval rating based on 13 reviews, and an average rating of 6.61/10.^[35] The film was assigned a weighted average of 53 out of 100 from Metacritic, based on 5 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[36]

Eric Kohn and Nigel M. Smith of IndieWire cited the performances of Farmiga and Rosenfield as breakout talent at the 2015 South by Southwest.^[37] Kohn wrote, "Hannah Fidell, working with executive producers Mark and Jay Duplass, effectively broadens her range by borrowing the sibling directors' improvisatory style and ceding control to her two leads, whose heartbreaking performances imbue this familiar Austin-set narrative with a fiery edge."^[38] In their list of 25 performances they would like to see receive awards recognition, IndieWire highlighted Farmiga and Rosenfield's work in 6 Years.^[39] IndieWire also listed the film as number 7 on its "13 Most Criminally Overlooked Indies and Foreign Films of 2015".^[40]

Justin Chang of Variety wrote, "Although shot and performed in a determinedly raw, naturalistic register, this emotionally roiling portrait of two twentysomething Texas sweethearts too often veers toward melodramatic overstatement, inspiring little empathy or understanding despite the committed performances of promising young leads Taissa Farmiga and Ben Rosenfield."^[41] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "A melodrama benefitting from excellent performances but suffering from a too-obvious script,"^[42] while Ryland Aldrich of Twitch Film opined, "An indie drama through and through, Fidell has again succeeded in telling a tiny story and making it feel as big as the world. Her connection to these characters is infectious and impossible to ignore. It may be an emotional rollercoaster, but it is real, and the intimacy is undeniable."^[43]

Accolades