The romantic movie is a sobering reminder about actual relationships in college.
Last week, I debated about the representation of women in media. And while I do enjoy criticizing and nitpicking mass media, this week I want to take a break from politics and discuss something that is even closer to our hearts: young love.
6 Years is a romantic drama that tells the story of Dan Mercer and Melanie “Mel” Clark, two college undergraduates who have spent six years together in a healthy, happy relationship. But when Dan’s career begins to spell out a different future from what he and Mel had intended, their relationship suddenly takes a violent turn.
This movie surprised me in several ways. I was delighted that 6 Years does not participate in the typical cliches of an atypical romance story. It is neither a PSA about why cheating on your partner is bad or a parable about the negative effects of drugs. The movie simply brings to light a “what if” scenario that many young people do not want to acknowledge.
The main characters of the movie are what make it such a success. Dan is attending school to be a music producer and Mel wants to be a elementary school teacher. When they are done with their daytime internships, they turn into average college kids. They drink, smoke and have sex as much as they want.
Still, 6 Years does not focus a large amount of time on the happy-go-lucky part of their relationship. The audience barely gets a taste of Dan and Mel’s chemistry before dilemmas are introduced, which seems fitting because this movie is essentially about what happens after two people get together.
The plot of the movie is constantly struggling with the question “Does the sex ever get boring?” — something that is literally asked by no fewer than three characters throughout the film. Throughout the movie, Dan and Mel answer this question in their own ways.
Mel, it seems, does not think her sex life with Dan will ever get boring. She is head over heels for her boyfriend and obviously intends to marry him. Dan, on the other hand, is in love but does not seem to be inclined either way. He has been content with his relationship throughout the years but, unlike Mel, he is more inclined to further his career than further his relationship.
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I am only about five weeks through my first semester of college, but I can see how relevant this story is to many. Either we ourselves have parted ways with our significant others because of differences or we have watched our friends come out of relationships that they thought would last.
6 Years is a very average story that gives a rare look at how challenging love actually is. So often audiences bear witness to romantic movies and comedies that set relationships up as if they are easy to manage. This movie challenges that idea to an interesting extreme that ultimately reminds the audience of how finding true love at the right place and the right time is hard.
Statistically speaking, the average person gets married closer to 30 than they do 20. So, do not worry, most of us still have plenty of time to fit into the average bracket.
Depending on the time of day, this movie can be kind of a buzzkill, and while I would not necessarily recommend it to someone who is looking for a feel-good kind of movie, the bittersweet ending the movie comes to is kind of comforting. Happiness will come to those who seek it — rest assured.
Kaitlyn McGarvey is a freshman studying journalism. What’s your favorite romantic movie and why? Email your responses to km451814@ohio.edu or tweet @McGarveyKaitlyn.
