Earth to Films
  • Home
  • About
    • NAFCA
    • The Cherry Picks
    • Muck Rack
  • Blog
    • Reviews
    • Curations
  • Festivals
    • Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) >
      • 'Silent Land' Review
      • 'Petite Maman' Review
      • 'As In Heaven' Review
      • 'Aloners' Review
      • 'Quickening' Capsule Review
      • 'Ste. Anne' Review
      • 'Spencer' Capsule Review
      • 'The Power of the Dog' Review
      • 'Scarborough' Review
      • 'Spencer' Review
      • 'The Guilty' Review
      • Debut Features Shine At TIFF 2021
    • Canadian Film Fest (CFF) >
      • Review: Beneath the Surface
      • Review: Not My Age
      • Review: The Last Villains, Mad Dog & the Butcher
      • Review: Sugar Daddy
      • Review: White Elephant
      • Review: Woman In Car
    • Future of Film Showcase (FOFS) >
      • Review: Flower Boy
      • Review: Parlour Palm
      • Review: This Is A Period Piece
      • Review: Wash Day
    • Devour! The Food Film Festival >
      • Welcome to the 11th Hour of Devour!
      • 'Kiss The Ground' Review
  • Interviews
    • Kaniehtiio Horn on 'Ghost BFF'
    • Vanessa Matsui on 'Ghost BFF'
    • Macey Chipping on 'Mystic'
  • Contact
  • Links

review: the forty-year-old version

10/11/2020

0 Comments

 
By Nadia Dalimonte
Picture
Radha Blank in The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020)
Radha Blank’s funny and passionate directorial debut feature, The Forty-Year-Old Version, is by far one of the best films of the year. Blank, who stars in the film and wrote the screenplay, is an incredible storyteller with a clear vision about artistic expression.

The story is about Radha, a playwright looking for a breakthrough in New York City. Ten years after writing a play and winning a ’30-Under-30’ award, she now teaches a small group of students for a theatre company that doesn’t get the proper funding. She is at the mid-life point where she’s being “rediscovered”, even though she’s been here all this time, working and writing. She’s currently working on a play about a Black couple living in a gentrified Harlem. Her friend and agent, Archie (Peter Y. Kim), tries to look for avenues that would welcome her voice. The search gets her in the room with celebrated theatre producer J. Whitman (Reed Birney), who makes her empty promises that she’ll get to actually tell her story. He has a history of misrepresentation and wants Radha’s play done his way: completely reshaped to suit white audiences.

At the heart of this story, beautifully directed in black and white, is an authentic voice who needs to be heard. Blank explores working in a white dominated industry that continually pushes marginalized artists to compromise their stories. As Radha loses more and more control of her own play, she starts using her voice as RadhaMUSPrime, rapping about her experiences. She eventually meets music producer D (Oswin Benjamin), who encourages her and the two form an intimate connection as the play’s opening night quickly approaches.
​
Blank also includes documentary-style interviews with people on the subject of turning forty. This adds another layer of perspective to the sentiment that 40 is not too late, that there is an audience for ’40-Over-40’. The 40-Year-Old Version is a compelling film with a brilliant lead performance by Blank and a pitch perfect supporting cast, who altogether make a memorable mark.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2023
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
    • NAFCA
    • The Cherry Picks
    • Muck Rack
  • Blog
    • Reviews
    • Curations
  • Festivals
    • Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) >
      • 'Silent Land' Review
      • 'Petite Maman' Review
      • 'As In Heaven' Review
      • 'Aloners' Review
      • 'Quickening' Capsule Review
      • 'Ste. Anne' Review
      • 'Spencer' Capsule Review
      • 'The Power of the Dog' Review
      • 'Scarborough' Review
      • 'Spencer' Review
      • 'The Guilty' Review
      • Debut Features Shine At TIFF 2021
    • Canadian Film Fest (CFF) >
      • Review: Beneath the Surface
      • Review: Not My Age
      • Review: The Last Villains, Mad Dog & the Butcher
      • Review: Sugar Daddy
      • Review: White Elephant
      • Review: Woman In Car
    • Future of Film Showcase (FOFS) >
      • Review: Flower Boy
      • Review: Parlour Palm
      • Review: This Is A Period Piece
      • Review: Wash Day
    • Devour! The Food Film Festival >
      • Welcome to the 11th Hour of Devour!
      • 'Kiss The Ground' Review
  • Interviews
    • Kaniehtiio Horn on 'Ghost BFF'
    • Vanessa Matsui on 'Ghost BFF'
    • Macey Chipping on 'Mystic'
  • Contact
  • Links