Thelma-Finding Charm in the Mundane
Though its synopsis makes you picture an action film featuring a 90-year-old woman, Thelma has a much more chill, laid-back tone. Much of the film's comedy stems from how it turns mundane aspects of its 90-year-old protagonist's life and treats them like action movie tropes, complete with a bombastic soundtrack and over-the-top sound effects. The film treats a scene of Thelma navigating a retirement home like a scene in a Bond movie where he navigates an exotic club. The film treats a single-digit mile-an-hour scooter chase like a high-octane car chase. These gags are simple enough in concept, but in execution, they never failed to get me chuckling.
But it's the writing that makes the film so endearing. The writing makes each conversation throughout the film, no matter how goofy or absurd, feel so honest and down-to-earth. Each exchange throughout the film feels like that of real people, be it Thelma's elderly interactions with the people around her or the bickering dynamic of Daniel and his parents. The performances help with this, as each one feels so natural. June Squibb, in particular, plays her lead role perfectly, feeling like everyone's grandma. Fred Hechinger, while it took a bit to get used to his performance, eventually grew on me, playing one of the most accurate portrayals of a neurodivergent person I've seen in quite some time, as he doesn't play his mental struggles to an over-the-top extent, and instead incredibly naturally.
The film also acts as a moving portrait of growing old. The film portrays the nature of aging so honestly but not overly cynically. The film doesn't play up the downsides of aging in a way that feels too bleak. Instead, the film plays up aspects of aging, be it struggles with technology or health complications, with a playful touch that makes moments of its elderly characters' acceptance towards growing old feel incredibly earned and extremely moving rather than feeling overly bleak or cynical.
What aids in the film's charm is Josh Maglin's direction. The filmmaking has a playfulness, with many fun camera angles and whip pans throughout the film. The cinematography also captures the San Fernando Valley with this otherworldly lens flair-heavy look that reminds me of Punch-Drunk Love in the best way possible.
Some of the characters didn't work for me, particularly the parents, as despite charming performances from Clark Gregg and Patti LuPone, the two characters' overly clingy and controlling nature made them, at times, pretty unlikable. The film's more laid-back atmosphere did lead to some moments that dragged on a bit long throughout the film, as scenes of natural banter did sometimes feel like they were dragging on for too long.
Even with its issues, Thelma is such a charming film from beginning to end. Its gags are so simple but so effective. Its characters are so endearing, with writing that makes them all feel like actual people. It all makes for a movie that works so well due to how well it finds the charm in the mundanity by making it all feel larger-than-life than it is.
Now Showing in Theaters in the U.S
