the tragicomic adventure of growing old

Senescence is something that terrifies us and within our titanic fantasy of progress we believe that we can avoid it. Unlike traditional civilizations, modernity does not prepare us to deal with the fragility of this natural process and has led us to completely disconnect from this phase of life, inviting us to put everything new on a pedestal and completely devaluing the voice of experience. Creams, makeup, wigs, skin tightening operations, botox, prosthetics, sexagenarians dancing in TikTok like teenagers using filters Instagram to get rid of decades, are some of the sterile actions that have become more common against the inexorable passage of the years. Of course, cinema is not a phenomenon unrelated to this: the public demands young faces and stimulating conflicts, often displacing legends of the seventh art to the background. That is why having a leading cast that is over 80 years old and that explores the theme of the limitations of old age is a rare review in modern cinema… And that is precisely the case of ThelmaJosh Margolin’s debut feature Magnolia Pictures brings us to the movie billboard.

Inspired by a real-life event, the story introduces us to Thelma (June Squibb), a 94-year-old grandmother who lives alone, stays active and has a very close bond with her grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger) with whom she shares everything. the days. Together, despite the age difference, they go through a similar process: they feel like they are a burden on their family, they long for independence, and they deal with the anguish of the relentless passage of time. Things get complicated when one day Thelma is the victim of a telephone scam, an action that sets off the alarms of her grandson, her daughter Gail (Parker Posey) and her son-in-law Alan (Clark Gregg), who begin to see this as a sign of deterioration. due to his advanced age. As expected, Thelma will not sit idly by and decides to embark on an adventure together with her friend – and contemporary – Ben (Richard Roundtree) to recover the $10,000 she lost, unmask the thieves who deceived her and show everyone that remains more active than ever.

Written, directed and edited by Josh Margolin, Thelma subtly explores extremely difficult topics such as old age, death, the environment to grow, the intrinsic vulnerability of our condition as human beings, family dynamics – and the complexes that are activated in them -, generational prejudices, the difficulty of adapting to changes and many more things. Topics that, far from confronting us with a slap, are developed under the structure of a heist/road movie starring nonagenarians with carte blanche to speak and do whatever under the aegis of humor (without, however, detracting from the tragic subtext that underpins much of the feature film). The success of this strange mix lies in the ability of its scriptwriter to take a real conflict – a scammed grandmother – and develop it with all the in the tropics from a spy movie but in “miniature”: how to steal a special vehicle (a scooter for grandparents), acting like fugitives (from the distraught family that is chasing them), using microphones to communicate discreetly (headphones bluetooth for deafness), hack a computer (dealing with pop-up) and even wield a weapon. The result is a self-aware and somewhat naive that plays with that idea of ​​how as we get older we become children again in the eyes of others (disobedient, unaware of danger and eager to show everyone our independence).

Visually, its director manages to put us in the shoes of the heroine of the story and builds an epic based on subjectivity. Thus, going through a store full of antiques is for Thelma the equivalent of infiltrating a lair full of obstacles that could cause her death or handle a scooter In the middle of a hallway it feels like a chase on a highway at full speed. Relying on the montage and manipulation of time—which goes from the elasticity and parsimony of old age to a frenetic pace throughout Mission Impossible—, Margolin manages to generate tension in things as simple as standing in line at a bank or putting the emphasis on a fall that is experienced as a potential death. At the same time, through direction and editing, he uses changing perspectives to magnify small conflicts and, from one moment to the next, make zoom out to put ourselves in context and move from one record to another. In this process, the photography of David Bolen (Untold, The Lionheart, Delhi Crime) also plays a key role in giving the entire story that warm light and texture that makes us feel “home”, even though we are on an adventure going from one place to another. At the same time, he manages to move to the other antipodes when night falls, highlighting Thelma and Ben’s feeling of helplessness as they move further and further away from their safe zone. Another interesting point in the subjectivity of each scene is the play with optics to deform space (sometimes to create the illusion that a place is larger than it is or, on other occasions, eliminating the depth of field to make us feel more the sensation of intimacy and isolation). Finally, the soundtrack by Nick Chuba (Shogun, The Strangers´ Case) is the one that ends up setting the tone of each scene, going from one genre to another to get us fully into the mood correct every time we change perspective (composing themes that can easily go from comedy to action from one second to the next).

Of course, one of the undeniable strengths of Thelma It’s in their performances. June Squibb steals the show completely, showing that at her age — and after dozens of titles under her belt — she enters the lead role through the front door. Not only does she successfully manage to move between multiple dissimilar registers, she also makes it her own. stunts —which, by the way, at their age are extremely demanding— and maintains the freshness of the story at all times. Next to him, the iconic Richard Roundtree completely distances himself from the image we have of him as Shaft to play a wise old man who decides to accompany his best friend on a “last adventure”, but without ceasing to be aware of his limitations – to the point of not knowing if he can overcome them or not, transforming himself profoundly during his journey. Both create a wonderful duo that at times reminds us of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, but in a different tone. Buddy Cop Movie. In parallel, Fred Hechinger shines in all of his interactions with June Squibb, making us feel that the bond that unites him with his grandmother is deeply genuine (and serving as a mirror of the anguish they both share). Parkey Posey and Clark Gregg work perfectly as “responsible adults” who, deep down, are terrified when things get out of control (giving us memorable scenes of unintentional humor). They all make up a family that feels real, close and loving—something key and on which the success of the plot largely depends. Another big surprise from cast is seeing Malcolm McDowell on the big screen once again, his role as the antagonist—despite his advanced age—continues to have that ominous vibe that his roles usually have that terrify us with just one look.

Thelma is a film about the adventure of living (accepting the ups and downs that come with the natural cycle of things). Creating a mirror between a nonagenarian grandmother and her twenty-something grandson shows us that, no matter how old we are, we must all face the prejudices of our environment and our fears in order to grow. At the same time, through his humor naive and ontological drama, invites us to make peace with our past, accept our limitations, face failure, and enjoy small victories with the joy of a child—and the gratitude of an old man—every day of our lives. Lessons that we should take with the seriousness of a stoic, but that we tend to ignore due to the terror caused by reflecting on our own mortality and fragility as human beings. Only when we manage to face these fears with the maturity typical of old age will we be able to sketch a perennial smile like Thelma and more than earn the true title of heroes of our history.

The best: The duo of June Squibb and Richard Roundtree are pure dynamite on screen. The organic nature of family dynamics. The ideal mix between humor and drama when dealing with such complex topics. References to action and spy movies. See Malcolm McDowell on screen.