Film Review – THELMA (2024): June Squibb Delivers a Sincere Performance in a Clever, Offbeat Indie Film

Thelma Review

Thelma (2024) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Josh Margolin and starring June Squibb, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Fred Hechinger, Clark Gregg, Hilda Boulware, Chase Kim, Sheila Korsi, Annie O’Donnell, Zoe Worth, David Giuliani, Ruben Rabasa, Nicole Byer, Quinn Beswick, Bunny Levine, Malcolm McDowell, Annie Korzen and Coral Pena.

Filmmaker Josh Margolin’s sweet but overly quirky film, Thelma, is carried by a sincere and charismatic performance by long-time character actress June Squibb. This new movie may take time to work its charm on its audience but the film eventually does and is quite entertaining despite stretches of action that feel improbable and a bit clumsy, not to mention annoying at times. Squibb makes it all worthwhile in the title role as a 90-something year-old grandma who unknowingly sends money to some scammers when her grandson, Danny (Fred Hechinger), is falsely said to be in trouble. Thelma follows the title character as she embarks on a journey to reclaim the money which was taken from her.

This film begins by establishing the bond between Danny and his grandma, Thelma. We see that Thelma is alone for the first time in a while as she is widowed. Danny uses a tracking device on his grandma which he places around her wrist. When Thelma is taken advantage of over the phone through a call with a man on the other end that demands money, the plot kicks into gear. One of Thelma’s first stops is picking up a gun at a friend, Mona (the funny Bunny Levine)’s house. Mona has cockroaches in her house and Thelma has a hard time making her way up the stairs to get the gun.

There are some really good casting choices here. Besides Squibb, who’s as good as gold, the supporting players are quite decent. Hechinger plays Danny as a screw-up who is far from an expert at relationships and can’t even renew his driver’s license on-time. Hechinger is well-cast in his meaty supporting performance and has some nice moments with Squibb sprinkled into the movie. It is the late, great Richard Roundtree, though, who steals Thelma away from Squibb in a few key moments later within the picture. Roundtree’s character, Ben, is at the heart of the movie as Ben teams up with Thelma on her journey to get to the mailing address where she sent the funds. Clark Gregg is also sufficient as Danny’s dad, Alan. Finally, one-time indie movie queen, Parker Posey, has a couple of scenes where she superbly overacts as Gail, Danny’s mom.

There are a few problems with this movie that really are minor quibbles but do hold the movie back from achieving more than it could have. Malcolm McDowell is genuinely underused in his surprise role in the movie and when he appears, one can’t help but expect great things but although his part is underwhelming, it gives Squibb more opportunities to excel in the latter sequences of the film. Also, clips of Tom Cruise doing action stunts feel sillier than the movie wants them to within the context of the picture.

Roundtree is so good in his part that viewers may want to see more of him. His distinguished role here reminds us why he was such a successful actor. Unfortunately, for a bit, the movie reduces Roundtree’s character to the watchman outside a store Thelma goes in to try to get her money back. One scene, though, where Thelma falls and Ben comes to her aide is supremely touching and Squibb and Roundtree have some moments which viewers will cherish.

Posey gets to act wild and kooky as the mom who goes looking for Danny alongside his dad after Danny sets off on his own without a driver’s license to find Thelma. Some of the moments where Thelma and Ben confront the thieves feel peculiar and don’t have the pizzazz they could have though these scenes will still maintain audience interest.

At the film’s end, we see real-life footage of the Thelma who inspired Squibb’s character and it’s heartbreaking and effective to see how well Squibb emulated the quirkiness of the real-life Thelma. Squibb is a dark-horse candidate for a Best Actress Oscar nomination and a shoo-in for a Golden Globe nod for her turn in this picture. Squibb is so earnest and successful in the part, it could be a late career-defining role for the actress. It’s better late than never for the always intriguing Squibb who has been doing character roles for as long as I can remember going all the way back to Scent of a Woman in 1992.

Thelma is heartfelt but is far from a perfect movie. It’s too quirky but because of Squibb’s turn, it’s easy to see the movie’s appeal to audiences who will root for her and Roundtree’s characters as they try to prove that crime doesn’t pay to those who have taken Thelma’s cash. Thelma is nothing less than a good time which will mark Squibb’s most substantial screen performance to date.

Rating: 7.5/10

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