Movie Review Thelma

Thelma (2024) 

Directed by Josh Margolin 

Written by Josh Margolin 

Starring June Squibb, Richard Roundtree, Fred Hechinger, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg 

Release Date June 21st 

Published June 25th, 2024

Thelma stars June Squibb as our title character, a loving, supportive grandmother living alone in a Los Angeles suburb. Thelma lost her beloved husband of more than 60 years just two years prior to the start of this story. It's the first time in her life that she has lived alone and she's started to enjoy the independence, even at the age of 93. Her main lifeline is her grandson, Daniel (Fred Hechinger), who visits regularly and takes her places she needs to go. He's also teaching her to use the internet, though she has little use for that. 

The plot of Thelma kicks in when Thelma receives a call from Daniel. He's been in an accident and needs her help. The call is cut off and a man claiming to be a Police Officer tells Thelma that to get Daniel out of jail and cared for safely, she must mail $10,000 dollars to a P.O Box in Van Nuys. When she can't get in touch with Daniel, she assumes that the call was real, it did sound like Daniel on the phone, so Thelma gathers up the money hidden around her home and mails it off, all while talking to her daughter, Gail (Parker Posey), and her son-in-law, Alan (Clark Gregg) who are so overcome with worry that they don't even ask about the money.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review Thelma

Thelma (2017) 

Directed by Joachim Trier 

Written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier 

Starring Elli Harboe, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Kaya Wilkins 

Release Date November 22nd, 2017 

Thelma is a fascinating and immersive supernatural drama that never fails to surprise. Director Joachim Trier, on his third feature following the remarkable duo of Reprise and Louder than Bombs, has crafted the most unlikely and unusual coming of age story that I have ever seen. Bristling with the awkward tension of newly discovered sexuality and a dangerous supernatural awakening, Thelma is among the most refreshing takes on the coming-of-age tale you could possibly imagine.

Thelma (Elli Harboe) is a sheltered teenager who has left home for the first time to attend college. Thelma’s over-protective parents, Trond (Henrik Rafaelson) and Unni (Ellen Dorrit Petersen), hover over every aspect of her life, calling nightly to ask about everything from classes to what she’s having for dinner. For the first few weeks of class Thelma is so tied to her phone by her parents’ calls that she fails to get out and learn to make friends.

Thankfully, that begins to change when Thelma meets Anya (Kaya Wilkins). Anya was in the college library when poor Thelma had what appeared to be an epileptic seizure. Anya cradled her head until the seizure passed, and paramedics arrived. Later, Thelma and Anya meet again at the school pool, and they make plans to hang out. Sheltered Thelma is excited to have made her first friend, so excited that she fails to see that Anya is thinking of her as potentially more than a friend.

As Thelma awakens to Anya’s feelings and begins to process her own feelings that she can hardly begin to understand from her cloistered religious upbringing, the film begins to take a dark turn. Thelma’s epileptic seizures, unbeknownst to her, have begun to affect the outside world, as if she were sending powerful psychic waves into the universe. As she seeks treatment for her seizures, Thelma begins to recover memories of her powers having a similar kinetic power when she was a child. This revelation leads to a shocking reveal.

Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal.