‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ Review: An Electrifying Adaptation That Is High On Emotions, Drama!
A heartbreaking story that makes you wish the band was real!
Taylor Jenkins Reid is a superstar in the Bookstagram/Booktok world. The stories she writes always end up occupying a small corner of her readers’ hearts. Her 2019 novel, Daisy Jones & The Six, is one such book that has a separate fanbase altogether. Chronicling the formation and the rise of a rock-n-roll band from the 70s, Daisy Jones & The Six takes its readers on a rock-n-roll ride, too. The series stars Riley Keough, Camila Morrone, Sam Claflin, Suki Waterhouse, Nabiyah Be, Will Harrison, Josh Whitehouse, Eddie Roundtree, Sebastian Chacon, and Tom Wright. Even though there are a couple of changes in the series’ storyline from the book, it engrosses you, makes you feel emotional, and leaves you wishing that the story would never end.
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The plot of Daisy Jones & The Six
The plot is an oral narration of the former band members of Daisy Jones & The Six, the same band that broke up right after their first album, and they were a huge hit among the masses. They have come together to narrate the incidents of all that took place right from when they began to when they abruptly ended, at the bright beginning of their musical career. It all started when the Dunne brothers, Billy and Graham formed a band along with the latter’s friends. Initially, they were called The Dunne Brothers but after having Daisy on board, they went by the series’ titular name.
Spanning ten episodes, the series perfectly breaks down all that the band had been through. Billy Dunne gets a chance to take the band to the next level in Los Angeles, and they move out from Pittsburgh. LA opens door to whole new opportunities, and their career begins to soar. But at the same time, Daisy Jones, who had a tough childhood after her parents neglected her, is also finding ways to shine bright in this sexist industry.
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Now, Billy Dunne gets high, quite literally, on the instant success he got. Severe drug abuse, alcohol, and fooling around with girls are where he spent his time when he was not making music. But Billy’s girlfriend, Camilla, who left her home to follow him and also gets pregnant with Billy’s child, gives him an ultimatum to get his act together before the baby arrives. And, he does. Billy gets himself admitted to rehab, and comes out clean.
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Now, Daisy and the Dunne Brothers’ paths meet when Teddy Price, their music producer decides to team them together. Well, needless to say, it was a terrible idea in the history of music because both Billy and Daisy are two very opinionated and hot-headed personalities who don’t like how the other functions. They also kept bickering, when they made music together. But when they begin to gel up, it gets hard for them to keep walking straight on this slippery road of lust and attraction.
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The chemistry between Billy and Daisy is so electric you can feel it through your screen. They are fire and gasoline and are just one kiss away from burning their world down. Every time they share a mic on the stage as they sing their hit tracks in front of thousands of people, you cannot help but wish they were together. They see each other as who they are. There is no mask or a show that they put up in front of each other.
Of course, there is a seeming love triangle between Billy, Daisy and Camilla but he doesn’t take it too far because of his commitment to Camilla and his daughter, Julia, much to Daisy’s disappointment. Meanwhile, the rest of the bandmates have no other option but to go along with this drama. There are internal love stories that run their own course without really interrupting the main storyline.
The songs that Daisy Jones & The Six made are iconic. The main songs from their album, ‘Regret Me’, and ‘Aurora’ do not feel like they are fictional songs created for a fictional story. Each strum of the guitar, each note of the piano, and each beat of the drum went straight to my heart, and it felt pure heaven!
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The cast of Daisy Jones & The Six
The character of Daisy Jones is played by Riley Keough. The nuances of Jones’ personality that have been brought to life by Riley make it impossible to take your eyes off her. As much as I understood why Daisy behaved the way she did, I hated her for being so toxic. She constantly needed attention, specifically from Billy, consumed drugs, wanted to be coddled all the time, and never took responsibility for her actions. Daisy had gone too far to care about whose life she ruined on the way as she destroyed hers, too. She has her best friend Simone Jackson, played by Nabiyah Be, who is there for her. But even she realises that Daisy is nothing but a ‘selfish bitch’.
Sam Claflin played Billy Dunne with finesse. He was fighting so many demons at the same time and Daisy did not make it easy for him. He knew he had feelings for Daisy and was always tempted to throw his perfect life with Camilla and Julia out of the window to be with her. But he did not. It is also evident time and again that Camilla and Julia came second to Daisy for him, which made me hate him a little, too.
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Camila Morrone playing Camilla Dunne was the best thing that could happen to this series. She is the string that held the plot, the music and the characters of the show together. Despite getting treated like crap by Billy every time, she stayed because she left her home for him at 18. She had faith in Billy even when he hit rock bottom and did not give up on him even though he was nose-deep in cocaine. She is vulnerable but wears her heart on her sleeve. It broke my heart when I saw that she was there for everyone but no one was ever there for her.
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The rest of the characters, Suki Waterhouse playing pianist Karen Sirko, Will Harrison playing the guitarist Graham Dunne, Josh Whitehouse essaying bassist Eddie Roundtree, and Sebastian Chacon playing drummer Warren Rojas, are all well played, too. They too are fighting their battles, sometimes not happy with the way things are functioning and getting tired of Billy and his drama.
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Also read: Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Review: Lang vs Kang Evokes Zero Emotion. But Jonathan Majors Conquers!
Verdict
Daisy Jones & The Six is a must-watch because the storytelling is excellent. There is hardly ever a dull moment in the show, and you are constantly glued to the new drama that unfolds. What I loved particularly is that as an audience, the show makes you a part of the songwriting process. So, with every lyric you hear Billy and Daisy sing, you know the hidden meaning behind it, you know what they are singing about. I request you to also read the book because that will be a different experience in itself. This was the first book you can call whose TV adaptation has done justice to the source.
Daisy Jones & The Six is available for streaming on Prime Video.
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