Taking the notion of the geriatric action hero to a new level, Thelma wonderfully plays with action movie tropes in its endearing story of an elderly woman’s high stakes/low speed pursuit for justice.
When it comes to action heroes, 94-year-old Thelma Post (June Squibb) is as tough as they come. A survivor of the Great Depression, WWII, a double mastectomy, colon cancer, a valve replacement, and a benign brain tumour, Thelma is now facing her biggest enemy yet: technology.
It is a plight that many elderly people face, with the advancing evolution of a tech-obsessed society leaving the last remnants of an older generation scrambling to relearn how to exist in a digitized world.
The opening scene of Thelma displays just that with the films title character given a refresher on how to read her emails by her soft-spoken slacker grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger) who constantly checks in on Thelma ever since the death of her husband the year prior.
Later that day Thelma receives a call from an unknown number that Daniel has been in a car accident and thrown in jail. Bail is $10,000 and she better pay before its too late. Of course, the caring Thelma paid. Of course, it is a scam. And of course, Thelma is deadset on getting her money back, come hell or high blood pressure!
Where other directors might have taken a story like Thelma in a more farcical direction, writer and director Josh Margolin has delivered an earnest and heartfelt action comedy that is an ode to his own grandmother and her defiant spirit.
With fine editing by Margolin pushing the films momentum, and a jazzy conga driven score from Nick Chuba (The Strangers’ Case) raising pulses, Thelma features high stakes and taut suspense in moments small and mundane, such as Thelma mistaking a stranger for a long-forgotten acquaintance, or trying to find that pesky X on a spam ad. To top it off there is also a chase sequence involving mobility scooters. Who knew old age could be so exciting?
Leading the charge is June Squibb as Thelma, who in the first lead performance of her career portrays the heart, the drive, the pride, and the courage of a woman who will not let her elder state define her last years.
She is Thelma: a survivor, a fighter, and the last person you would want to scam. You will respect this elder.
