Sunday, January 10, 2021

The 40-Year-Old Version


It's a black and white comedy set in New York about a failed theatre playwright, Radha Blank. It was written, directed, and stars, Radha Blank in this semi autobiographical film which reminded me a little of Woody Allen when Allen was at his best. It also has the pacing of a Jim Jarmusch film. If you ever saw Curtis's Charm, The 40-Year-Old Version borrows a bit from this too. I loved it and I loved Radha Blank. The story goes she was once a promising up-and-coming black star of the theatre world - she even got a plaque naming her one of the 30 under 30 most promising talents - but now she is 40 and hasn't produced anything in a decade. She teaches theatre to a bunch of foul-mouthed horny teenagers as her gay agent friend tries to revive her career by bringing back one of her works to the stage, but with artistic compromising edits. Blank deicides to go all 8-Mile and become a rapper. This sounds ridiculous but it's the best parts of the film. The 40-Year-Old Version is one of the warmest, charming films I've seen all year. Catch it on Netflix. 

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