Thelma (2024)
Directed by Josh Margolin
When 93-year-old Thelma Post gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson, she sets out on a treacherous quest across the city to reclaim what was taken from her.
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4 films that influenced Thelma
What critics say influenced Thelma
Brian De Palma's adaptation is Trier's immediate reference, but where that feature elicits screams from Carrie's maturation (and possesses an opening scene leering in its horror), Thelma analyzes where the independent spirit of a person takes over.
Because the screenplay so blatantly cribs from Carrie — everything from the meek heroine to the religious-fanatic family to the linking of supernatural powers with teenage sexuality — Trier seems to be toying with his audience, practically daring us to see the comparisons and then letting us wonder where he will deviate from the Brian De Palma film.
While that plot description could fit another film named for its female protagonist, the Brian De Palma classic Carrie, Thelma is less interested in supernatural horror than in contemplating the effects of an oppressive religious environment on personal development and the challenges of taking control of one’s destiny.
The film takes its time with the story and never feels rushed in its telling, and the skills that Vogt’s displayed previously in Reprise and Oslo, August 31st — most notably an eye for sadness and beauty in equal measure — all come into play even as odd and unnatural elements are added into the mix.
The film operates on a similar wavelength as Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz, with normcore, high-octane action scenes centered around Thelma going to the post office, or sneaking around an old lady’s bedroom, or falling and not being able to get up.
The corridors of his home act like mini vignettes of the complex lives of the people inside that will never be fully known and may unintentionally evoke a few scenes from “Smile” (2022).