Film Review: "Thelma"
June Squibb is nothing less than a triumph in a film that's poignant, powerful and, most importantly of all, hilarious.
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I knew going into Thelma–the new film starring June Squibb as Thelma Post as a nonagenarian grandma who decides to get back the money that a pair of con-artists scammed from her–that I was going to love it. After all, what’s not to love? June Squibb is an amazing performer, having crafted her own unique brand of stardom out of being an adorable character actress. She’s got so much spunk that you can’t help but love her, and she’s in fine form throughout Thelma, perfectly capturing the spirit of an elderly woman who isn’t willing to let anything–not her numerous ailments, not her family, not even her sidekick, Ben (played by Richard Roundtree)--stand in the way of her pursuit of justice.
What I did not expect was to feel overcome with emotions but, once it became clear that one of the most important relationships Thelma has is with her grandson Danny, played with endearing awkwardness by a shaggy-haired Fred Hechinger, I immediately found myself transported to the days when my own grandma was alive and she was one of the most important people in my life. The scenes between the two of them all felt so familiar: the way that Danny hovers over Thelma, making sure that she’s safe; the way they sit on the couch together just talking about life; even the way when, toward the end of the film, they talk about mortality and how Thelma won’t worry about him once she’s gone because she knows he’ll be okay. Any boy, particularly a gay one, who has had that special relationship with his grandma will know exactly what I’m talking about.
There’s a moment in Thelma when Danny muses about his awareness that Thelma is going to die one day, and it was one of those instances where a film just…well, it just seemed to hit me right in the feels. It was like I was seeing some version of myself up there on the screen, grappling with my own grandmother’s mortality. To be honest, it’s something I still haven’t quite figured out, but I’m at least grateful to this film for giving me an experience and a chance to make some progress in that regard. And thank the gods for Hechinger, who gives a remarkably textured, if subdued, portrait of a young man really grappling with the finitude of life.
It might seem strange to some, but watching Thelma made me feel as if I was spending time with my grandma again, something I was sadly unable to do in person in the months before her death due to COVID restrictions. It’s not that my grandma was much like Thelma–though she was undoubtedly full of spunk, I’m not sure she would have set off on a scooter to hunt down scammers–but the film manages to authentically capture the peculiar dynamic that exists between a grandmother and a grandson. It’s thus fitting that Danny plays a key role in helping Thelma get her money back, not just by talking her through how to use the computer to transfer the money from the scammers’ account back into hers but also picking her up and taking her home. I like to think that I, too, would have been willing to do the same.
All of this isn’t to say that Thelma doesn’t succeed on its own as a film, because it really does. Squibb might be best known as a character actress, but there’s no doubt that she has tremendous screen presence, and it’s hard not to marvel at how spritely she remains, even though she’s now well into her 90s. Moreover, there’s a remarkable chemistry between her and Richard Roundtree, and the second half of the film is very much a buddy road movie, with a scooter standing in for a car. There’s something remarkably refreshing about seeing these two
While the film clearly foregrounds Thelma’s relationship with her grandson, it’s just as much about what it means to grow older, to grapple with one’s own limitations, both physical and otherwise. The film has plenty of laughs, and Squibb is a true master at comedic timing and at physical comedy. However, she also knows how to deliver the goods when it comes to dramatic scenes, too, and some of the most poignant moments in the film are those in which the camera moves in to show us the wrinkles on her face and the whiteness of her hair. It doesn’t render her into an abject figure, but neither does it shy away from the realities of her age and the limitations it imposes on her.
The climax of the film, in which Thelma comes face to face with the scammers–the older of whom is played by Malcolm McDowell, who never met a scene he couldn’t steal with his venomous, biting delivery–is truly marvelous. If you haven’t seen June Squibb brandish a gun while demanding that a gangly teen and a man on oxygen give her her money back, then what have you been doing with your life? Aside from anything else, it’s quite fun to see Squibb and McDowell go toe-to-toe, just as it’s very rewarding to see Thelma succeed despite all of the odds being stacked against her.
The supporting cast is also quite good, but particular praise must be given to Parker Posey, who plays Thelma’s overly concerned mother and Danny’s overprotective mother. It’s clear that her efforts to keep her son safe and out of harm’s way are at least somewhat responsible for his frustrating ineptitude, but Posey’s skill is her ability to let us see the well-meaning soul beneath the frantically smothering facade.
Thelma is one of those films which moves effortlessly through emotional registers, from laughter and joy to poignancy and sadness. It’s a celebration of life in one’s twilight years, and we cheer Thelma on as she fights to hold onto her independence despite all of the obstacles thrown in her way. The film is a powerful reminder that there’s still a lot of life in our nonagenarian actors–and loved ones–and that they still have a thing or two to teach us.