Posted by Thelma; 2024; Written & Directed by Josh Margolin; Starring June Squibb, Richard Roundtree, Fred Hechinger, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg; Magnolia; 1h38m; PG-13; theatrical release June 21st, 2024
Like last week’s The Bikeriders, Thelma is not the type of movie I normally write about. Also like last week’s The Bikeriders, Thelma heavily features motorized transport. But in a very different way, and a much better movie. Thelma has been a festival darling, up this way it opened the Seattle International Film Festival in May (with June Squibb in attendance), and now reaches wide release.
It’s hard to believe Thelma, written & directed by Josh Margolin, is the first lead role for 94-year-old June Squibb, after a long career of supporting and character roles, including her nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2013 for Alex Payne’s Nebraska. (I particularly dug her part in Blow the Man Down a few year’s back.) Better late than never. Of course, she’s never stopped working, heck she’s in theatres twice right now, with also voicing Nostalgia in Inside Out 2. As the titular character, she’s a joy – radiant and exuberant- teeming with life and the energy of an actress 70 years her junior.
If you take nothing else from this write-up or need nothing else let me say: It’s a movie filled with such life and fun; a film you can take your parents to (or rent/stream with) and share a great experience. Thelma is an absolute joy of a movie, a delightful romp of caper.
What a fun caper it is! Thelma is a nonagenarian in a pickle. A scammer pair (including Malcolm McDowell) has convinced her to send them $10,000, pretending her grandson is in jail. Not one to just take it, she convinces an old friend – Shaft himself, Richard Roundtree in his final role, to use his motorscooter to confront the scammers. This escape across Los Angeles spins her family- daughter Gail (Parker Posey), son-in-law Alan (Clark Gregg), and grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger) into a panic (leading to some incredibly funny scenes with Nicole Byer and Quinn Beswick) and her asserting her ability to still be active and independent.
The family dynamic is perfect. An amazing chemistry exudes from the family, especially in Squib and onscreen grandson Hechinger. A hugging aura of lifelong love and affection surrounds them, immediately endearing the viewer to the film. He feels like a kid who found his best friend in his grandmother and that dynamic never changed, even as he enters his 20s. I’ve read Squibb and Hechinger bonded so well, they often have dinner and hang out long after the film wrapped. I can see that happening, they feel so real together. The younger family members may be a little patronizing, much to Thelma’s annoyance, but it’s natural and not over-written or made one note villainous as could easily have done. There is a truth to how a loving family works around a 93-year-old woman; one still with a spark of life, but the ailments and issues that come to living that long.
It’s a heartwarming, hilarious tale, but in a way that is never saccharine or forced. It speaks to old age and living the best life, no matter the age, without being condescending; there is no forced sentimentality. That doesn’t mean there aren’t emotions and tears. There are. But these moments are via a well-earned building of and releasing of feelings. The recently passed Roundtree has a particular moment that rips your heart out. To the film’s credit, it does not overplay this hand. There are real things to say about independence, recognizing needs, the troubles of age, and looking back at one’s life; along with finding the path (for both young and old).
Nor is there humor mined in “old people doing things you don’t expect” of crasser comedies. So, no, June Squib does not speak jive.
Also, keep in mind this is a heist picture as the basis. There’s particular fun in the transitions of heist movie tropes to match this story. Even these aspects are done in a way that feels natural and fresh, and not a “hey, look at this thing you know but with old people!” It’s a smart script all around, with these moments, the great one-liners, moving scenes, and fantastic set-ups/pay-offs.
Thelma is just all around a fantastic film. Honest and funny, wonderfully put together. It’s a feel-good movie, ultimately, but not dismissive of or condescending to its audience.
A
Other SIFF reviews by Bob: Oddity, In a Violent Nature, I Saw the TV Glow
All of us talk SIFF on the podcast episode devoted to SIFF and Crypticon
And check out Tony’s SIFF write ups at The Sunbreak: In a Violent Nature, The Primevals, Oddity/I Saw the TV Glow/Dragon Superman
3 comments