Very rarely does a massive streaming corporation like Netflix surprise me with what they choose to pick up from festivals but if the one exception had to be this film, then wow. Radha Blank's The Forty-Year-Old Version is an absolutely astounding directorial, producing, and acting debut and one that deserves accolades upon accolades. Every element about this movie is flawlessly put together and one thing made clear is that Blank is not an upcoming talent to take for granted. Her cinematic efforts throughout this film paired with the stupendous editing and cinematography make this autobiographical dramedy one of the most compelling stories I have seen this year. While the plot itself follows some typical beats and I did not quite care for one of the subplots, there is so much to love about this film. Even though Blank's career has gone on for decades without many people knowing, this cinematic reboot of her talents proves that she is not a force to be reckoned with.
"30 Under 30" playwright Radha Blank (herself) has an established career as one of the most promising writers of the new age but spends her time teaching acting at a local school. When she decides to reinvent her artistic career by making her own mixtape and putting out her message through lyricism, she struggles with the classic, artist's conundrum: pursuing what one loves vs. selling out in order to make money and survive. Blank is the ultimate, artistic threat throughout this film as she writes, directs, produces, and stars in this autobiographical story of her own experiences. While that amount of work carried on one's back can often lead to a more self-congratulating type of story, the way that she handles her own past about her career was fantastic. Blank is completely earnest with how she was able to reinvent her artistic self and of course, that comes with the ups and downs of starting a music career. I loved how her writing was able to incorporate such honest themes of selling out, the road to success, and the dreaded imposter syndrome and to be able to openly talk about one's own downfalls is so inspiring. It was also such a nice, reassuring touch to throw in the footage of her actual first, musical performance in the end credits and while nothing throughout the film ever suggested inauthenticity, I'm just always a sucker for end credit scenes like that. There may have been a slight diversion in the writing, focusing on Blank's newfound relationship with a beats producer named D (Oswin Benjamin) that I found a bit distracting towards her overall goal, but Blank was able to infuse this aspect decently well. Her direction was also entirely solid and she shows more than anything that she has a strong, strong grasp on how to tell a fluid story. The pacing and emotional beats of The Forty-Year-Old Version were great and while I did find the structure of the movie to venture into predictable territory, the subject matter was never too dull to sway my attention. For a story with as much enthusiasm as this one, though, it is difficult not to completely persuade your audience with a story that is so obviously close to your own heart.
Blank's handling of this story was just wonderful and while her writing/directing abilities rear their confident heads, her performance stood out just as much. There is definitely an art to playing yourself in a film and while I have not really seen any other movies with such engaging performances, Blank absolutely knocks it out of the park. She nails every dramatic scene, every bit of comedic timing, and every little personal detail that goes into creating herself, and I was just blown away by the level of sincerity that I could see from her performance. Not only is this movie self-reflexive but it gives Blank a chance to really air out some of her career pet peeves and truly find herself within this story. Not to mention the fact that she is downright hilarious, as The Forty-Year-Old Version has some of the most real and honest humor that I have seen recently. Along with Blank's portrayal of herself, the technical pieces of this movie and the creative decisions that they made were breathtaking. The cinematography from Eric Branco was just delightful and I loved his use of the handheld camera to tell this story. The slow whips and pans that he uses during scenes to capture most of the dialogue and action in one take were just awesome to watch and really created a sense of environment in her version of New York City. Most films utilize back-and-forths or wider shots to encompass everything happening within each scene but Branco opts to use more movement, which I greatly appreciated because of how well it establishes the setting and characterizes the mental state of our protagonist. I also loved his use of color and how much the black-and-white creative decision played into the plot. There are only certain moments in this film that are shot in color and especially in the ending, the slow fade back into realism was *chef's kiss*. These cinematographic techniques never distracted or took away from Robert Grisby Wilson's editing, however, which was also amazing. The quick cuts that he uses help to push along each scene very well and gives this film a sense of place because of how fluidly the story moves ahead. The cuts within the takes to emphasize dialogue were also a technique that is used very much in French New Wave cinema and indies of the current day. It is always a choice that I will 100% be down to see and honestly, bravo all around.
Radha Blank's The Forty-Year-Old-Version is not just an examination of the contrast between generations but an examination of success. I absolutely adored the focus on Blank's career and sticking to what her heart tells her to despite monetary gain and her direction of herself and the rest of the cast proves to be phenomenal. As mentioned though, not much of the story structure was particularly unique but Blank shows better than I could have expected that she knows how to hit the emotional beats of a story and get an audience to go along with it. All the better for her film, of course, because I could have followed her story until she was forty-one.
My Rating: ★★★★
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