'The Year Between' Review: Alex Heller's Debut Feature Plays Bipolar by the Numbers | Tribeca 2022
NR
Runtime: 1 Hr and 36 Minutes
Production Companies:
Distributor:
Director: Alex Heller
Writer: Alex Heller
Cast: Alex Heller, J. Smith-Cameron, Steve Buscemi, Wyatt Oleff, Emily Robinson, Kyanna Simone, Rajeev Jacob, Waltrudis Buck
Release Date:
TRIBECA 2022 Coverage
Forced to return home from college after her erratic behavior alienates everyone around her (namely her amusingly panicked roommate), Clemence (Alex Heller) begrudgingly begins an undesired new chapter in the suburbs, hell-bent on defying her Mom (J. Smith-Cameron), Dad (Steve Buscemi), younger siblings, therapist—and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. But as the realization of her situation begins to set in, Clemence pushes herself to maintain a strict medication schedule, find a job and show up to her appointments, all whilst maintaining a bitingly quick intellect and antagonizing, razor-sharp wit that keeps everyone around her on their toes.
Meme and TikTok creator Alex Heller (best known as Thementallytrillest) has made her transition to writer/director/star. With The Year Between, Heller brings her experience with bipolar disorder to light in a coming-of-age dramedy that marks an impressive debut despite the familiar trappings it falls into.
If you’ve seen any of her TikToks or memes, The Year Between follows that same vein of humor and commentary on bipolar disorder. From the moment the film opens, Clemence is established as, to quote Jean-Ralphio: “the woooooooorst.”
Clemence is brash, erratic, abrasive, cynical, and all other negative adjectives that are known to man. Her unapologetically manic and mean-spirited attitude is hers; it’s not a reflection of the disorder. Though she’s just as unlikable, Heller’s commitment and screen presence elevate the film. Out of the many hats she dons, her strongest suit lies within the acting department. She bursts out the gate with charisma and wit and shines in her first lead performance. Heller’s deadpan delivery on her cynical lines of dialogue gets a few chuckles here and there. She also brings a good amount of chemistry with her co-stars, especially those who portray her family members. Given that she’s amongst a supporting cast of talented and experienced performers like Steve Buscemi, J. Smith-Cameron, Wyatt Oleff, and Emily Robinson, Heller steps up to the plate and plays ball on their level. With this being her debut performance, it’s impressive to see the amount of range she showcases in drama and comedy. Heller proves she’s a talented and bold performer who can control the scene and carry it if necessary.
The Year Between is your standard coming-of-age dramedy where a woman-child has to move back home to the suburbs so she can get her shit together. It goes down the checklist of coming-of-age drama tropes but sparks an original identity via the relationship Clemence shares with her family unit. Everyone around her is fed up with her b.s.: she embarrasses her baby brother, her little sister starts fights with her, dad walks around on eggshells, and mom is just doing her best. Clemence attempting to connect with her family spawns some of the most noteworthy content in the film and there’s a natural progression to the relationship. Plus, you rarely get to see the dynamic of a young 20-something being the eldest of several siblings while having a mental disorder.
Alex Heller boasts a calling for being an incredible performer and writer. Unfortunately, the screenplay leaves much to be desired despite the archetype of the character’s condition. Many people are going to parallel this with Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, especially since the central conflict of the film is between Clemence and her mom, but for me, it’s heavily reminiscent of Judd Apatow. It follows the formula of many coming-of-age slacker comedies, ranging from the constant arguments between leads and their parents to the unsuccessful navigation of starting a new job, plus a party scene where people take drugs and hijinks ensue. The Year Between goes down the rabbit hole of every trope you’ve seen before and plays everything safe, which is weird to say because the lead protagonist is a crass person.
Speaking of crass, ooh, Clem is an awful leading protagonist. She spends so much of the movie being deplorable. She just stole Renate Reinsve’s title of The Worst Person in the World. There’s little to no charm to her at all and while Heller is good, her character is hateful at every turn. She terrorizes people, steals from others, and never apologizes for her actions. Above all else, she’s hardly funny.
The narrative attempts to have its cake and eat it too, wanting to serve as a crash course for the audience on what bipolar disorder is and explore Clemence’s new livelihood. Sadly, it sacrifices any sort of balance to show what it’s like living in her shoes, for it doesn’t explore as much as it emphasizes within the first act. Clemence is an enticing subject for a character study, especially given how nasty and unlikeable she is, but Heller’s story places her on a formulaic self-discovery journey we’ve seen ample times before in film. The story begins with a relatable air to it, especially during a montage of Clemence’s symptoms acting up as she’s adjusting to living in her parent’s basement… until it throws all nuance out the window.
A better example of a movie that explored bipolar disorder while serving as a bold character study is Kelly Oxford’s Pink Skies Ahead. That movie deconstructed a young woman learning about her mental health condition and subtly explored the symptoms while providing a bold coming-of-age story that felt fresh and well-paced. The Year Between merely continues a cycle.
The Year Between is an impressive debut for Alex Heller as an actress and storyteller. I commend her ambitions for sharing her personalized story on-screen and her performance proves that she is a talent we’d love to see more of in the future. I can feel it in my bones that Alex Heller is going to be a star. That being said, this film is a by-the-books coming-of-age dramedy that goes down the checklist of beats done many times before rather than exploring an engaging, messy lead with bipolar disorder. It’s entertaining but way too formulaic for its own good.
