The Forty-Year-Old Version

Play trailer

2:20

The Forty-Year-Old Version

R

2020

2h 3m

Comedy

Drama

Music

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

99%

Tomatometer

135 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Radha, a down-on-her-luck NY playwright, is desperate for a breakthrough before 40. But when she foils what seems like her last shot at success, she's left with no choice but to reinvent herself as rapper RadhaMUSPrime. The Forty-Year-Old Version follows Radha as she vacillates between the worlds of Hip Hop and theater on a quest to find her true voice.

Watch on Netflix

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

The Forty-Year-Old Version opens a compelling window into the ebbs and flows of the artist's life -- and announces writer-director-star Radha Blank as a major filmmaking talent with her feature debut.

Read Critics Reviews

Violet Lucca

Sight & Sound

02/12/2021

The Forty-Year-Old Version paints a loving portrait of parts of New York City that aren't represented with such care, if at all, in narrative films of this scale.

Go to Full Review

Robert Daniels

Polygon

02/12/2021

Everything about The Forty-Year-Old Version feels fresh.

Go to Full Review

Soraya Nadia McDonald

Andscape

01/20/2021

The Forty-Year-Old Version offers a refreshing, unpretentious and often hilarious take on middle-aged Black womanhood.

Go to Full Review

Patrick Beatty

ABC4 Utah

07/23/2025

It's a powerhouse film.

Go to Full Review

Harry Solomons

Loud and Clear Reviews

01/08/2025

3.5/5

The Forty-Year-Old Version may not land every punch it throws, but there’s a great deal to be taken from an incredibly fresh picture.

Go to Full Review

M.N. Miller

Ready Steady Cut

09/03/2022

4.5/5

Blank’s film is a fearless, razor-sharp comedy about keeping the gentrification out of art.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

R T

@RT34428227 Jul 26

Perfection. No notes, all praise. Human interest storytelling at its peak. I’m from Detroit and this movie feels like home. Fell in love with Radha, D, Peter, and the rest of these characters early, and thoroughly enjoyed being a fly on the wall of their world til the end. I cried, laughed, felt warm & fuzzy, watched the movie again two days later, and multiple times since. The film industry and world needs more authentic & heartfelt art like Radha Blank’s. As a fan of this film, my only disappointment is I’ve been craving more of Radha Blank’s pen and direction for six years. In the meantime, I’ll watch this story over and over again with enough time in-between to forget enough details to get as close as possible to the high of the first watch. PS: If you love Black women even 1/8th as much as I do, this is two hours of heaven on earth.

See more

Chet Bashari A

@Bash_Sr Dec 6

Forty Year Old Version is utterly brilliant! What an amazing accomplishment! I laughed, nodded, sighed, smiled and hollered, a lot! Lovely film! Brooklyn, Harlem, NY stand up!!

See more

Gabriel E

@RT17671154 Sep 1

This movie is overrated, it is not bad but not great either. The whole movie is in black and white for no reason. This movie was released in 2020 not in 1940.

See more

PL W

@RT12021233 08/17/2025

Slow and boring … great sleeping pill but as a movie nope

See more

Dani R

@RT06505002 08/13/2025

interesting take. get's a bit cliché and a loses tention sometimes. emotionally shallow. misses depth.

See more

Stephen C

@bob25009 07/02/2025

Funny in 2 hours and 3 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated R for Some Drug Use, Brief Nudity, Sexual Content and Pervasive Language!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Radha Blank

Director

Welker White

Julie

Reed Birney

Josh Whitman

Radha Blank

Radha

Peter Kim

Archie

Jacob Ming-Trent

Lamont

Wild Rose

92%

87%

Wild Rose

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Wild Rose

Kneecap

95%

95%

Kneecap

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Kneecap

Lords of Chaos

73%

62%

Lords of Chaos

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Lords of Chaos

Inside Llewyn Davis

92%

74%

Inside Llewyn Davis

Watchlist

Mainstream

42%

40%

Mainstream

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Mainstream

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Fresh First: The Forty-Year-Old Version

3:07

Now Playing

The 40-Year-Old Version: Trailer 1

2:20

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Radha, a down-on-her-luck NY playwright, is desperate for a breakthrough before 40. But when she foils what seems like her last shot at success, she's left with no choice but to reinvent herself as rapper RadhaMUSPrime. The Forty-Year-Old Version follows Radha as she vacillates between the worlds of Hip Hop and theater on a quest to find her true voice.

Director: Radha Blank
Screenwriter: Radha Blank
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Hillman Grad
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Pervasive Language|Brief Nudity|Some Drug Use)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 9, 2020
Runtime: 2h 3m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings