The Year Between is a 2022 American independent dramedy film, written and directed by Alex Heller in her feature directorial debut, who also stars alongside J. Smith-Cameron, Steve Buscemi, Wyatt Oleff, Emily Robinson, Kyanna Simone, and Rajeev Jacob.

The film follows Clemence (Heller), a maladjusted collegiate dropout with bipolar disorder, who returns home to her reticent family and attempts to juggle her fractured relationships along with the everyday pressures of "adulting".

After a minor festival tour, the film was subsequently released in the United States and Canada in limited theaters on March 3, 2023, to positive reviews, while simultaneously made available for streaming on Peacock and Hoopla.

After incurring a manic bout of bullying, her miserable roommate, Eliza (Blim), notifies the administration and her craft store proprietress mother, Sherri (Smith-Cameron), of Clemence's disparaging attitude and mood swings.

Upon visiting a psychiatrist (Buck), Clemence is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is prescribed a regimen of medication beginning with lithium to balance her oscillating mania and depression episodes, which will require experimental adjustments.

"[15] Dennis Harvey from Variety is equally effusive, praising Heller for maintaining a tonal balance of the subject matter: "The result is a useful mix of the pseudo-random and finely honed that refuses to hand-wring over Clem’s travails, yet simultaneously makes an upbeat case for her emerging from them intact — even if she’ll never exactly be Miss Congeniality."

"[16] Nick Allen, a critic at RogerEbert.com, wrote in his 3½/4-star review, that "Alex Heller pulls off a dazzling tonal high-wire act for her directorial debut"; compliments the film's dialogue as "naturally, wildly funny, without sugarcoating the issues it embraces"; and concludes, "…that a daring dramedy like this can be made, and tactfully.…It's proof of a major talent.

On the flipside, Jones had a bad reaction to the "deplorably crass main character" and took umbrage with the screenplay, evoking unfavorable comparisons to Lady Bird (2017).