364. The Forty-Year-Old Version; movie review
THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
Cert 15
123 ins
BBFC advice: Contains sex references, strong language
Will cinema ever be the same again or has Netflix now cornered the market in high-quality movie making?
Not only does the streaming giant invest in series and movies with superstar casts but it also takes chances on fresh talent.
Not that Radha Blank is youthful. She's been around the New York scene for over a decade but this is her directorial debut and is smart and original.
Part of the charm of The Forty-Year-Old Version is that she is very witty and isn't afraid of self-ridicule.
Blank plays herself in a cross between mockumentary and real-life.
Her character won an award for 'promising playwright' in her 20s but has struggled to fulfil her potential and is now teaching drama to unreceptive classes.
Her love life is a mess and she is trying to avoid her landlord because she can't pay her rent.
Nevertheless, Blank is infectious because she refuses to be defeated in her quest to improve herself and others around her.
With that in mind, she turns to rap - a long-forgotten passion - to express her feelings and, hopefully, make her big breakthrough.
Blank has written, directed and is the focus of a film which shouldn't work because of its self-indulgence.
But it does because it combines so beautifully self-deprecation and real-life disappointment with an overriding sense of hope.
It also intersperses the New York City backdrop and the Big Apple's fresh and funny characters.
It occurs to me that there are similarities with Woody Allen at his best.
Yes, Radha Blank - a black, female Woody Allen for the 2020s. Why not?
Reasons to watch: Screen presence of Radha Blank
Reasons to avoid: Repeatedly goes over similar ground
Laughs: Three
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 8/10
Baca Juga
The final word. Radha Blank: "RadhaMUSprime as an alter ego really did save me. What I love about hip-hop music is if you have a skill with a pen it really doesn’t matter what you look like. I used RadhaMUSprime to celebrate having a May to December romance, and I have a fat girl sex anthem. In my normal life I’m always dieting, whereas RadhaMUSprime doesn’t care. She celebrates her rolls!” The Guardian
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