Josh Margolin's "Thelma"

TONIGHT’S FILM.

IF YOU LIKE.

If you like these things, then you’ll like the film. If you don’t, skip it or explore past recommendations in the archives.

▶ Nonagenarians. That is, people between the age 90 and 99. This movie has those. More than most.

▶ Intergenerational bonds. A strongly forged connection between grandmother and grandson can melt the iciest hearts. Looking at you, Bill. Ya icy-hearted bastard! ¹

▶ Action movies. Writer-director Josh Margolin credits Mission Impossible as inspiration for the film’s style, comically leveraged as a way to explore themes of aging, infantilization, and obsolescence.

THE ONER.

The film in a single sentence.

OH, NEAT.

A fact or two about the production that makes you say “oh, neat”.

▶ This is June Squibb’s first leading role in her illustrious 70+ year career in Hollywood. At the time of filming, she was 95 years young.

▶ Despite her age, Squibb insisted on doing her own stunts. Just like Tom Cruise in the MI series. ²

MY TAKE.

What I liked about it.

Writer-director Josh Margolin’s “Thelma” is a stylish, charming feature-length debut. Inspired by his grandmother’s brush with identity theft, Margolin’s “Thelma” imagines what might have happened if his tough-as-nails 93 year-old grandmother held her perpetrators accountable.

The film walks a tight rope. It finds both heart and humor in the humiliations, trials, and triumphs of aging. It also sensitively portrays the emotional fallout of identity theft scams, specifically those targeted towards the elderly community.

It’s filmed, edited, and scored like an action film. Yes, it’s an action film about a 93 year-old woman. I suspect this puts it into a category of its own; a sort of revenge-fantasy for the elderly. I didn’t research this claim, so tell me if I’m wrong; I didn’t want to enter this into a search engine.

So, how does one center an action film around a 93 year-old? To accomplish this, Margolin shrinks down the big set pieces you’re used to seeing in action films. High speed chases occur on motorized scooters in retirement homes, instead of fancy cars with under-glow lighting. Tense find-and-retrieve missions include maneuvers like scaling carpeted staircases, rather than the glossy side of a skyscraper. By blending this novel approach with a convincing score and snappy camera work, Margolin manufactures tension in the perfectly normal settings where Thelma’s story unfolds.

June Squibb is a force as the titular character, Thelma. It’s impossible not to fall in love with her as the adorable, sharp-tongued grandmother, defiantly hanging on to her independence in the face of obsolescence. Her relationship with her grandson feels immediately true; as does their mutual exhaustion from being infantilized by Thelma’s daughter, played by Parker Posey. The film rests on Squibb’s shoulders, and I have no notes. She is perfect. Her performance makes Thelma’s story plainly relatable and positively gripping.

Most simply, “Thelma” is a tender tribute from a grandson to his grandmother. Perhaps it’s more than that. Maybe it’s the tribute to all the olds in our lives, that none of us realized we needed.

The movie resolves in a brief 98 minutes. A nonagenarian. Though, much like its lead character, it’s never incapable or obsolete; not for one minute of it’s runtime.

THE COMMUNITY REC.

I’m adding a new section to tnmn emails. Each week, I’ll ask you to reply to this email with your favorite movies that fit an arbitrary theme. The following week, I’ll share the top three recs with the group.

This week’s category: Movies with titles that start with the letter “B”.

▶ Reply to this email with a recommendation for a movie that fits the theme, along with a one sentence explanation for why someone should watch it. Include your first name and last initial if you want me to give you credit.

▶ If the movie title doesn’t comply with the rule, I will print your reply out and show it to all my friends. We’ll all laugh at your expense and it will be super duper embarrassing.