Thelma
Scams: they could happen to you(r grandparents). We’ve all heard stories of seniors getting grifted out of their savings; hell, it was the setup for the so-bad-it’s-almost-good The Beekeeper from earlier this year. But while most endings to these stories range from “Take it as a $500 lesson” to “Yesterday, she shot herself because you took two million from a charity she ran,” few pose the scenario of the target seeking retribution in comedic Mission Impossible style. Enter Thelma, the feature debut from writer and director Josh Margolin that sprung from a real-life scam attempt on his own grandma Thelma, and an imagining of what would’ve happened had she decided to take matters into her own 93-year-old hands. The result is a totally charming, funny and poignant film that will please audiences of all ages and technological competencies.
June Squibb is Thelma Post, a proudly independent senior living in Los Angeles. She spends her days playing online Mahjong, navigating typos while leaving comments on YouTube videos and posting accidental photos to Instagram. But she’s not completely technically incompetent; visits from her beloved grandson Danny (Fred Heschinger, The White Lotus) are improving her prowess as well as enriching her day-to-day life. He dotes on her and insists she wear a fall bracelet for his “mental health”; she resents it slightly, but agrees out of affection for her favourite young person.
So when she gets a call from ‘Daniel’ saying that he’s in jail for hitting a pregnant woman with his car and needs $10,000 sent by mail order to a PO box for his bail, she immediately obliges. Later, when her frantic daughter Gail (Parker Posey) and equally anxious son-in-law Alan (Clark Gregg) discover that Danny was safe, sound and just oversleeping, the family goes to the police. Naturally, the police are no help - “it could be worse” is the conclusion to their investigation - and the family take it as an expensive lesson learned.
Still stewing on the injustice while watching Mission Impossible: Fallout with Danny one afternoon, Thelma is struck by the resilience and spirit of one Tom Cruise as he launches himself from one building to another in pursuit of a wrongdoer. “He does all his own stunts,” Danny tells her, and she’s surprised, given his age. Suddenly, an idea strikes. And with the might of Tom Cruise, the scooter of an old friend named Ben (Richard Roundtree in his last role) and the stolen gun of another, Thelma sets off on a righteous caper for the ages.
At the risk of sounding ageist, senior-centred comedy films are normally not my jam. I’ve sat through several that hurl geriatric joke after geriatric joke at an audience assumed to have had hip surgery, so I was somewhat reluctant to see Thelma lest it be another one. But Margolin’s film is far more universal and modern in its storytelling, incorporating neat little technological tricks (like Thelma and Ben conversing without detection through the hearing aid app on their phones), referencing tropes from spy films during the final sting and making the most of the Los Angeles streets in its cinematography. But more than anything, it carries a reverence for its heroine that’s impossible not to catch.
It’s shocking that this is June Squibb’s first leading role considering her presence in films that span The Age of Innocence to Nebraska, but she makes up for lost time in the limelight by not only stealing the show but throwing herself body and soul into the character, reportedly, like Tom Cruise, doing her own (age appropriate) stunts for the film. She imbues what are likely real life Thelma Post lines with spades of personality and offbeat humour, making it easy for the audience to look at things from her perspective and perhaps see the stubborn seniors in their own lives in a new light.
And this is one of Thelma’s greatest strengths. Through the contrasting viewpoints of Ben and Thelma, Margolin deals with the issues of ageing in a modern world with poignance and consideration. Roundtree plays Ben with emanating freedom because Ben has come to terms with his age and inabilities; he’s embraced living in a care facility where he has structure, training to know how to help someone who’s fallen and social activities that ensure he’s not locked away alone all day. Where Thelma values her independence in her LA home and sees help as insulting, Ben accepts it as part of the journey that’s left. The film makes sure not to depict either way of living as right or wrong, but approaches the subject with sensitivity and understanding.
Margolin also manages to bridge the troubles of the older generation with the younger through Danny’s struggles with his own independence. The only child of helicopter parents, Danny self identifies as useless - “I literally can’t do anything” - citing his inability to order a new licence or be enough of an adult for his girlfriend. This makes the relationship between Thelma and Danny even more meaningful; the one generation separating them removes the anxiety a direct guardian might feel and fills it with objective wisdom instead. Where Danny’s parents are worried about his future, Thelma has enough distance to put the faith and confidence in him that he needs.
Thelma is a genuine crowd pleaser with a perfect balance of comedy and serious stuff, and features assured, charismatic performances from the whole cast. Its post-credits scene featuring Margolin’s real-life grandmother Thelma Post (who, at the time of writing this, is 103 and still kicking) is the kind of life affirming stuff we need right now. I can wholeheartedly recommend the film to anyone who needs a bit of uplifting in these less than uplifting times.
I watched Thelma the way nature/Perth’s socioeconomic suburban structure intended – alongside Western Suburbs 70+ year-olds at Windsor Cinema. After I’d laughed, welled up and contemplated mortality next to those whose call to the grave is more impending than my own, I managed to find some common ground with my Boomer and not-so-Silent Generation audience members. And that’s an equalising fear that, whether by the increasing cost of living or the increasing craftiness of scammers, we might all return to the earth with $0 in our bank accounts.
Verdict
☆☆☆☆
Thelma is in cinemas September 5. Take your mum, dad and any grandparents you have left.
