The 40-Year-Old Version is a movie example of a remix. We get well known stories to the tune of something entirely different than how these stories are usually told. Radha Blank, the creative force behind the movie, has clearly told a story very personal to her that will be all to familiar to movie watchers, but has learned enough techniques in her 40 years on Earth to make us forget all those tired tales and feel like we’re in something new and interesting.
If any of the 40-Year-Old Version is true, then it’s been tough sledding for the last decade for Radha Blank. A previous 30 under 30 playwright winner, Radha has struggled to make the theatre she wants to make, forcing to make ends meet by teaching an after school arts program in a high school in New York City. Her gay BFF Archie (Peter Kim) lands her a shot writing for an out of touch playwright (Reed Birney), but while that opens a door, Radha is tired of making creative sacrifices like this. While in a creative rut, she meets with D (Oswin Benjamin) a local DJ, who inspires her to take up hip-hop as a hobby, and potentially more.
It’s amazing what previously unseen characters can do to an oft repeated story. In 40-Year-Old Version, we have several: artist struggling to make ends meet in NYC, middle aged person at a crossroads, chasing a dream vs. stasis, systemic oppression of minority communities. A lot of stuff we’ve seen. Middle aged African American theater playwright potentially turned rapper? That’s new. Radha specifically is a character rarely seen in movies, so the beats of her day to day life are foreign for everyone, giving the movie inherent propulsion and mystery as to where we might end up next. As we fall deeper into Radha’s world, those formulaic moments in the story that would cause eyerolls with character types we’ve seen before, simply don’t come across as bothersome because Radha is a breath of fresh air.
Blank also proves to be a pretty talented storyteller despite the tropes and formulas of the stories she’s using. She adopts a mostly breezy tone to the proceedings, fitting nicely with the stakes of the film. All types of humor are represented here, the best of which is the biting satire towards the faux woke theater industry in NYC. Props to Radha for being able to make fun of herself; there’s some deliciously awkward moments that nice people like me will cringe through for Radha’s sake. But when the moment’s right, the tone becomes quietly dramatic, which are the moments that will stay with you longest, probably because they stem from the wonderful relationships Blank writes. Anytime Rhada/D and Rhada/Archie are sharing a screen in particular, something wonderful is going to happen, and only gets better as the movie goes along.
If you swap out battle rap for moviemaking, maybe The 40-Year-Old Version is exactly what Radha Blank’s life was like. If that’s true, and we’re probably seeing the real Radha onscreen, I’m pretty certain that I want to see what else she has to say. In particular, I would love her Birdman like film about behind the scenes nonsense at the theater. Those folk can be brought down a peg or two…