If she hasn’t earned it already by now, June Squibb certainly deserves American-national-treasure status for her performance as the indomitable Thelma. Having played supporting roles for decades in films like The Age Of Innocence, Far From Heaven and About Schmidt, in 2013 she was nominated for an Oscar for Alexander Payne’s Nebraska. But, perhaps unsurprisingly for an industry that’s not very interested in women over 40, let alone over 90, this Sundance hit is her first-ever leading role.
And thankfully this indie comedy/road movie/nonagenarian revenge story serves Squibb extremely well. Thelma lives a quiet life after the passing of her husband, enjoying visits from her affable but aimless grandson Danny (Fred Hechinger) who helps her with emails and watches Mission: Impossible with her. In a sequence that will have you cringing in horror, she falls for a phone scam, posting $10,000 in cash to a PO box. She’s humiliated when she realises her mistake, and overhears her family arguing about whether she can still live independently. Squibb plays this moment beautifully — she’s vulnerable without being mawkish, carefully removing her hearing aids and retreating to a place of denial.
The film is buoyed by a consistently funny script, real pathos and stellar comic performances.
When the police prove inept, Thelma takes matters into her own hands. After stealing a souped-up mobility scooter from her friend Ben (a lovely performance from the late Richard Roundtree), the pair eventually team up, setting out to retrieve her money from the scammer (Malcolm McDowell). And so begins an immensely entertaining caper, with Thelma exhibiting some Ethan Hunt-style moves along the way. When Ben asks her if she knows how to use a gun, she replies, “How hard can it be? Idiots use them all the time.” This is high-octane stuff for a ninetysomething, and Thelma’s small slip on a stair is just as suspenseful as Tom Cruise dangling off a roof. Meanwhile, Danny and his panicky parents (Parker Posey and Clark Gregg) are in hot pursuit.
On paper, Thelma may sound unbearably twee, the kind of film that relies heavily on old people saying the darnedest things to win laughs. But the film is buoyed by a consistently funny script, real pathos and stellar comic performances. Writer-director Josh Margolin was inspired by his own strong-minded grandma almost falling for the same scam, and his affection for her is obvious. No-one here is a villain trying to lock Thelma away — the family’s concern about her wellbeing is treated sympathetically, and her journey towards accepting help is genuinely moving.