Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Josh Margolin
Starring: June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Clark
Gregg, Malcolm McDowell
For his feature debut Thelma, writer/director Josh Margolin draws inspiration from and pays
tribute to his grandmother, Thelma Post. 103 years young at time of writing,
Thelma is the widow of director Ted Post, best known for a string of cult
movies in the 1970s. Among Ted's filmography is The Baby, a bonkers thriller about an adult man forced to live the life of an
infant by his domineering mother, and
Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate, a blackly comic TV movie about a quartet of old ladies who find
themselves targeted by a predatory criminal. It seems Margolin may have been
inspired by his grandad's work, as Thelma deals with the theme
of infantilisation while spinning a comedic thriller plot about an old lady
targeted by a predatory criminal.
Best known for her supporting turns in Alexander Payne's
About Schmidt and Nebraska (the latter earning
her an Oscar nom), June Squibb gets her first lead role at the tender
age of 93 as the titular Thelma. It's a couple of years since her husband
Ted passed (Ted Post cameos from beyond the grave via an email attached
video) and Thelma has settled into a content life as a widow. She's doted on
by her grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger), who helps her out with her
computer tasks and insists that she wear a panic alarm watch for his own
"mental health."
One morning Thelma recives a phone call from a con artist claiming to be
her grandson. The scam is that he was involved in a car accident and has
been jailed, with $10,000 bail money to be mailed to a PO box in order to
free him. Falling for the scam, Thelma posts the money before her family can
return her panicked calls. When it becomes clear she has been victimised by
an opportunist, the police are of little help, writing it off as a learning
experience. Determined to get her money back, Thelma enlists the aid of her
nursing home resident friend Ben (Shaft himself, the late
Richard Roundtree) and the two set off on his mobility scooter in
search of justice.
Thelma has a similar setup to the recent Dale Dickey headlined thriller
The G, but where that movie traded in gritty realism, Thelma opts
for a light comic approach. And yet both movies make the same point, that
old people can simultaneously be vulnerable and require looking out for whle
also maintaining a degree of independence. Thelma's family have her best
interests at heart, but they're also smothering, infantilising a woman who
is far sharper than they think. Thelma's daughter Gail (Parker Posey)
and her son-in-law Alan (Clark Gregg) similarly stifle Danny with
their helicopter parenting. There's a lovely moment when Gail and Alan are
being fussy and Danny and Thelma exchange a knowing glance between two
adults who are both sick of being treated like children.
The comedy Margolin generates here isn't lazily taking cheap shots at the
elderly. We don't laugh at Thelma, we laugh at her, and the gags will likely
land best with viewers close to Thelma's vintage. For the rest of us, the
comedy sparks an awareness that if we're lucky enough to make it that far,
we'll end up dealing with these issue ourselves. Many of the laughs are
generated not by old people's inability to function in the modern world, but
at the modern world's isolation of the elderly, like a scene involving
Thelma being dogged by advertising popups while trying to retrieve her
stolen money from a banking website.
The movie heavily references the
Mission: Impossible
franchise, with a patronising headline about Tom Cruise still being to pull
off action roles the initial spark that sets Thelma off on her quest.
Thelma's hearing aid and panic alarm are transformed into the gadgets of spy
cinema, the former cleverly utilised in a sequence that sees Ben play Toby
to Thelma's Ethan as he remotely guides her through a cramped lighting
fixture store. The score by Nick Chuba imitates Lalo Schifrin's
iconic music for the '60s series, and given his family connections, you have
to wonder if Margolin tried to tempt Schifrin into scoring the film
himself.
It all leads to a denouement that further enhances the theme of old people
being both vulnerable and more capable than we might give them credit,
though the late reveal of a certain actor isn't the surprise the movie might
like, given how we earlier heard their very distinctive voice over the
phone. The subplot of Danny trying to win back his gfirlfriend and generally
get his life together feels messy and unresolved, but I think that may be
the point. Danny and his parents are filled with worry and apprehension
throughout, while Thelma takes it all in her stride. Maybe you have to live
a very long time to understand how short life really is.
Thelma is on UK/ROI VOD now.
