THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION | FILM REVIEW
Dir: Radha Blank (15, 124 mins)
Radha Blank is a playwright struggling with grief, compromised success and a worry about her future path in this wryly funny tale, filmed in monochrome and set in Harlem. Blank writes, directs and stars, lending authenticity and winningly self-effacing aplomb to her onscreen persona. She won an award, one of 30 under-30 creatives to watch out for, based on the success of her first play; the following 10 years or so have been rather arid creatively, and she now teaches a fractious group of teens whilst trying to get her new play Harlem Ave performed.
Ostensibly about a black couple struggling to run a business, it becomes railroaded by a smarmy white theatre producer – an excellently repellent Reed Birney – for a similarly Caucasian theatre-going audience, with often hilarious results. The play becomes about gentrification in Harlem, introduces a white character to make it more palatable, gains a white director and robs Blank of her authentic voice. This strand goes side-by-side with her renewed interest in hip-hop and rhymes, where Blank can truly express herself under the gruff tutelage of young DJ Oswin Benjamin, who has also recently suffered the loss of his mother.
The pair form an unlikely but winning partnership, Blank negotiating the potential cliché pitfalls of the relationship with skill. She also relies on Korean gay best friend Archie (Peter Kim), who can be brutally honest with her as both her agent and long-time confidant. As the opening night of her play approaches, Blank is forced to confront who she really is, and who she should and could be, in an enjoyably offbeat treat. Harlem is another character in the film, peopled with various characters on the street who offer their take on events; the odd splash of colour amidst the black-and-white cinematography heightens moments and, as director, Blank sidesteps clichés as the film heads towards its climax.
Echoes of Spike Lee resonate throughout (Blank recently wrote for the She’s Gotta Have It TV series), but this is an assured black female voice, telling a different story from a unique perspective and all the more enjoyable for it.
words KEIRON SELF
Streaming on Netflix now