The Forty-Year-Old Version

Watch: The Forty-Year-Old Version

10/2/20202h 3m

Theatrical (limited) Release (US)

~ Find your own voice. ~

Overview:

Desperate for a breakthrough as she nears the big 4-0, struggling New York City playwright Radha finds inspiration by reinventing herself as a rapper.

Director:

Radha Blank

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

new york city
rap music
rapper
playwright
writing workshop
woman director
struggling playwright

Cast

Radha Blank

~ as ~

Radha

Peter Y. Kim

~ as ~

Archie

Oswin Benjamin

~ as ~

Reed Birney

~ as ~

J. Whitman

Imani Lewis

~ as ~

Elaine

T.J. Atoms

~ as ~

Kamal

Welker White

~ as ~

Julie

Jacob Ming-Trent

~ as ~

Lamont

Haskiri Velazquez

~ as ~

Rosa

Stacey Sargeant

~ as ~

Stacey

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 1 year(s) ago
6
Radka is a playwright who has somewhat fallen from grace since her first success and as she approaches 40 is having a sort of mid-life crisis - what is she about? What's it all for? How can she become fulfilled? Well - indefatigable, she goes about setting herself up as a rapper and it becomes quite clear to "D" - the young base track layer that she has some skill at it. He even presuades her to do a live gig so perhaps her rather hum-drum, routine, existence might be about to change for the better... ? Well, simultaneously her agent "Archie" (Peter Kim) is trying to get the rather seedy, gay casting-couch merchant "J Whitman" (Reed Birney) to produce her play and the film juggles her rapping and writing aspirations set against her day-job teaching a disparate bunch of students with attitude and talent - but both need to be controlled! At it's best, this is great - the rapping is potent and poetic; the comedy can be funny - if somewhat predictable; and she is an engaging and likeable character. It is, however, far too long and auteur Blank struggles to maintain the pace and focus of the film for much of what just turns out to be a fairly ordinary tale of a single woman trying to recalibrate. I enjoyed it, but it really could have been doing with a more objective hand at the helm.