Sundance 2020: 10 Films Everyone Is Buzzing About
6. The 40-Year-Old Version
Written by, directed by, produced by and starring Radha Blank, The 40-Year-Old Version revolves around a fictionalized version of the filmmaker, a downtrodden New York playwright who turns to rapping in a last-ditch effort to re-discover her artistic voice.
As the title suggests (a clear riff on The 40-Year-Old Virgin), the movie definitely has some laughs, but it's not really an out-and-out comedy.
Shot on black-and-white 35mm interspersed with snatches of color, it's intended as a thought-provoking examination of the way that aging creatives can often struggle to maintain the momentum of their earlier years (Blank's character hasn't staged a successful play in a while, and has resorted to teaching high-school drama to pay the bills), while also demonstrating that it's never too late to take a big swing at life and reinvent yourself - which, in this case, comes in the form of spitting bars at open mic nights.
The movie was just acquired by Netflix (for a reported "mid-to-high" seven figures, no less) so expect to see it pop-up on the streaming platform later this year.