Thelma: A Charming Geriatric Mission Impossible Caper

By Liz Braun

Rating: A

Tinseltown is a place where age is hidden and old people are reviled, so call it an act of courage that Josh Margolin’s feature debut is an homage to his own grandmother.

Thelma is a delightful film about a woman of 93 who gets caught in a “grandparent scam” and decides to get her money back from the people who swindled her.

It’s a love letter to one woman and a nod to age and wisdom in general; the film also acknowledges the rough road seniors travel while getting old and simultaneously attempting not to be a burden to anyone.

The film begins with scenes of nonagenarian Thelma (June Squibb), and her grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger) going over some fundamentals of computer use at Thelma’s condo. The camera rests lovingly on Thelma’s aged hands.

The bond between Thelma and Daniel is immediately evident — he is genuinely concerned for her, and she is his biggest cheerleader. They are both being scrutinized by the generation between them: Thelma for being old and possibly no longer self-sufficient, and Daniel for being a young slacker and not self-sufficient enough.

Then comes the phone call that changes things. Thelma becomes a victim of a “grandparent scam,” and hands over $10,000 thinking she’s posting bail for her beloved grandson. (During Covid, when the courts were actually shut down for health reasons, such telephone scams flourished.)

Unhurt but embarrassed at falling for the scam, Thelma overhears her worried daughter (Parker Posey) and son-in-law (Clark Gregg) — Daniel’s parents — talking about how she’s maybe not so sharp anymore. What’s to be done about it? Should Thelma be allowed to continue living alone?

Thelma determines to get her money back from the bad guys. Her decision kicks the story into action-movie gear, albeit an action movie populated by seniors — in scenes that manage to be tense and charming at the same time.

First, though, Thelma goes through her phone book looking for a sidekick, only to find most of her friends are dead, dying, infirm or incapacitated. It’s bleak but very funny, just the sort of mix of dark and light that characterizes Margolin’s screenplay.

Thelma finally enlists the help of Ben (the inimitable Richard Roundtree, in his last performance), an old friend who owns a scooter, and they take off across the city to confront the people who swindled Thelma.

Along the way, they also confront their own advanced age and diminished capabilities; again, filmmaker Margolin moves effortlessly between hard truths about getting old and the lightest bits of whimsy, all of it sewn together with terrific dialogue.

Thelma is really entertaining. The cast (which includes Malcolm McDowell) is very strong. The performance from Squibb, a 70-year vet of the industry and Oscar-nominated for her work in Nebraska, is fantastic, and Roundtree is likewise magnetic.

If you see Thelma, please stay for the credits, because there’s a glimpse of the real Thelma, who is now 103 years old, tucked into the end of the film.

Thelma. Written and directed by Josh Margolin. Starring June Squibb, Parker Posey, Fred Hechinger, Clark Gregg, Malcolm McDowell, and Richard Roundtree. In theatres June 21.