Streaming Service: Netflix (With Subscription)
Warnings:
Sex
Nudity
Explicit Language
Rating: R
The Forty-Year-Old Version is a comedy film written, directed and produced by Radha Blank. It is her feature directional debut, she also starred in the film and it was named one of the ten best films of 2020 by the National Board of Review. The Forty-Year-Old Version had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and won the U.S. Dramatic Competition Directing Award. Radha plays a down on her luck NY teacher and playwright, who is nearing her 40th birthday and she is eager for an artistic breakthrough. She isn’t feeling fulfilled with her work as a playwright, so she reinvents herself as RadhaMUSPrime and she wavers between the world of Hip Hop and the world of Playwriting in order to find her creative voice. This film validates middle aged women while highlighting what Black artists have to endure in a whitewashed art world. The three main things that stand out about this film is the cinematography, acting and the music. This comedy is so unique and completely different from any other cinema I have viewed, I don’t think there are any other films like it.
This first aspect of the film that I would like to call attention to is the cinematography. The cinematography is beautifully executed by Eric Branco who is known for Clemency, Night Shift, and V/H/S. The forty-year-old version was shot in 35mm film and is in Black at white for most of the film. When memories or valued art are displayed, the film switches to color. Alongside the speckles of color throughout the film, they took a documentary style approach which allows the audience to view New York in a whole new light. The Camera often follows characters, shows things from Radha’s perspective, or sometimes it’s even comically used to emphasize the humor. The film even nods to Spike Lee by interviewing characters in Radha’s neighborhood while they are breaking the third wall and speaking directly into the camera. The framing throughout the film is balanced and symmetrical however, when Radha is emotionally expressing herself through her art, the camera changes to an extreme close up. This tension allows the viewer to better understand her struggle as well as her wishes.
The music in the film is extremely powerful because it allows Radha to express herself in a way that her playwriting does not; her music is even comical at times. Alongside the exceptional Hip Hop featured in the film, the casual jazz music when Radha is walking through the streets is beautiful. Joined with the cinematography, the music emphasizes important scenes in the film but also adds to the scene in a heartfelt way. The film does a wonderful job comparing storytelling between Hip Hop and playwriting while emphasizing how whitewashing Black art not only damages that community but also impairs the outsider’s perspective of that community.
Last but not least, the acting was amazing, Radha is able to make the audience feel completely uncomfortable when she is embarrassed or upset. With her genuine acting, her friendships seem real, as if they have known each other for decades. This authentic approach to her complex character allows Radha to capture an incredibly quick witted, goofy, and intelligent individual who is also completely relatable. On a few occasions, Radha bends down to do kneel and her knees crack, this small action becomes a hilarious additive to her characters many problems, specifically stressing her dilemma with being middle aged. Another thing worth noting is how some white characters represent the white gaze and are perfectly exemplified throughout the film. The film even illustrates different forms of the white gaze mixed with whitewashing Black art; the white characters in this film represent the obstacles that Black artists have to face when entering the art world. This addition to the film truly takes it over the top because it exposes a side of art that is often overlooked or disregarded.
The awards that The Forty-Year-old Version hopefully will receive will be well deserved. From the cinematography, acting, music and a perspective that is often ignored, this film allows the audience to escape into New York in a new light that hasn’t been represented in previous cinema. The Forty-Year-Old Version is a masterful work of art that creates space for more BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) women in Hollywood, not only through comedy but also through proper cultural representation. The authenticity of this film speaks volumes of what needs to be changed in the art world and it certainly has created a space for more artists of color to speak their truth.