Review: The Forty-Year-Old Version
There are many times we hear about artists who were successful in their youth and had their futures ahead of them, but somehow never panned out how we all figured they would. Oftentimes, us as viewers or consumers of these people, we assume it was because of mistakes in their lives, or we hear they were difficult to deal with. We never get to hear their reasoning until it’s too late for them to even try and continue their career. Watching The Forty-Year-Old Versionmakes you think about those young careers. Radha Blank stars in the film as herself and wrote and directed the film. She’s a struggling New York City playwright, desperate for a breakthrough as she nears the big 4-0. She’s down on herself and almost gives up, until she finds inspiration by reinventing herself as a rapper. It’s not uncommon for a semi-late career change and nor should it be frowned upon or discouraged. Blank puts an emphasis on that in her film and tells a wonderful story that’s emotional and hopeful.
Radha was a recipient of the 30 under 30 Playwright’s award and her career was off to a hot start at the beginning of the 2010s, however, since then, she hasn’t had any of her plays produced and now teaches theater to young students. What Blank does so well with presenting her situation is that we assume she’s struggling because she’s not getting opportunities to produce her plays, but in fact, it’s the opposite. Radha has an agent, her longtime best friend Archie (Peter Kim) who knows a popular producer who’s actually interested in Radha’s work. However, Radha knows of the man and how he portrays black pain and poverty in all of his plays. Radha has integrity and this is how we learn it’s not a matter of being unable to produce her plays, but rather, wanting them to be produced the proper way – how she sees fit. This already flips the notion of the struggling writer and actually propels us as viewers to want her to succeed even more because it’s not just a matter of her wanting to be rich. Her art has a purpose, and she doesn’t want to have to sell herself no matter how much she may need to. Is this good? Of course! But she was in the wrong when she choked the producer out when he told her how he would change her play.
When Radha finally decides she wants to start rapping, she makes it clear to herself that she wants to rap about real things with meaning, with production like the days of old. Before Radha even talks about the kind of rap she wants do and how she wants the music to sound, Blank has already set up the foundation of her interests. Radha lives in Brooklyn and grew up there. The soundtrack of the film is full of all-time, conscious rappers like Queen Latifah and A Tribe Called Quest, and when her students play new-age, music she always makes a sickening look. Radha is able to find a producer, D (Oswin Benjamin) who matches the production she’s looking for, who is also from Brooklyn. Their meeting is awkward, obviously, as he’s a young producer used to working with young rappers who often rap about nothing. But, in time, they are able to form a beautiful bond between each other because D sees promise in her rapping, even when she doesn’t see it in herself.
In regard to the production of this film, Blank does a masterful job. Along with the music and soundtrack creating the atmosphere of this film, making it gritty at times with the 90s rap playing in the background, the cinematography and location also help create that feel. Cinematographer Eric Branco and Blank shot this film entirely in black and white on 35mm film. Shooting on films always makes a movie prettier, and along with the black and white aspect, it helps to create that 90s look Blank is trying to achieve. On top of that, the way black and white makes certain scenes look is something that can’t be achieved that well with color. When Radha goes to an underground rap club to perform, the black and white doesn’t make the room’s darkness swallow the frame. It allows the lights to shine brighter off of peoples’ faces, much better sometimes than color can do. Lighting becomes so much more important with black and white because everything we see is just a different shade of grey or black. It’s incredible that she was able to do this and make it look this wonderful.
With everything about this film that Blank does, whether writing or directing, it feels as though the greater message of this film and its autobiographical nature, are what truly shine. Radha Blank is The Forty-Year-Old Version, of herself. Blank lived this story, although never selling any plays at all, this is her life. She goes by the rap name RadhaMUSprime (her stage name in the film as well). Although her plays were never produced, they were recognized and helped her land jobs writing on Empire and the television adaptation of Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It. All of her hard work led her to make this film and her perseverance paid off. Blank won the Dramatic Directing Award at The Sundance Film Festival and The Forty-Year-Old Version was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. After its success at Sundance, the film was picked up for distribution by Netflix. Radha Blank did it her own way and made a beautiful film with her talent and integrity.
