The Forty-Year-Old Version

⭐ 7.0/10

(Originally written by Will)

This is a Netflix comedy/drama about a struggling New York playwright. Radha is a middle-aged black woman with a once-promising artistic career that never quite developed, when she attempts to reinvent herself as a rapper.

I thought this was just decent overall, but there was definitely some really good stuff. Radha felt pretty authentic throughout, and the story did a good job of avoiding a really nice, neat (unrealistic) story - instead it just kind of meanders around a bit, with Radha experiencing some successes and some failures while trying to find her way.

The music was also pretty solid! It's not the type of rap you'd hear on the radio, but instead felt like more amateur Brooklyn neighborhood kind of stuff, which I mean as a complement.

Oh, and the movie was almost entirely shot in black and white which worked reasonably well for it, but unfortunately I struggle with black and white in general because I've seen too many Mennonite wedding photographers overdo the black and white that I just can't take it seriously anymore.