Josh Margolin-directed action comedy Thelma was released at Sundance on Thursday. Starring Nebraska actress June Squibb in her first lead role, the actress praised the film for how it portrays age.
Thelma follows the 94-year-old titular character (Squibb) after she loses nearly $100,000 in a phone scam. Determined to take back the money for herself, Thelma sets out on a mission against the scam artist with her hapless grandson Danny (Fred Hechinger). Throughout her quest, Thelma seeks to prove to Danny and herself that she is still capable of more than people expect from women her age.
When talking about the film, Squibb praised it for showing how age can affect others’ perceptions of oneself. She didn’t plan on being in the lead role, though she did seek out parts that spoke to her. She explained, “I say yes if the script is good and if there’s something in it that interests me.” Squibb admired Margolin for allowing an older character to take the lead role in a feature film. “Just an elder leading character in something is very exciting,” she gushed.
Margolin also expressed his excitement for his combination of age and action. He joked that watching Tom Cruise jump out of an airplane is “as dangerous as my grandma getting onto a bed.” The film was based on Margolin’s grandmother, who also suffered from a phone scam. Thankfully, she kept her money after the ruse was caught in time. Despite the humor behind this scenario, Margolin still wanted to portray this story sincerely. “I wanted to treat Thelma’s mission with the sincerity and stakes that you would Ethan Hunt globe-trotting to track down the bad guy,” he explained.
Squibb took to this sincerity and did almost all her stunts like Tom Cruise. For instance, Thelma and fellow retirement home resident Bob (Richard Roundtree in his final performance) duel on mobile scooters and crash into each other. Despite the crew’s insistence that Squibb “‘tap his scooter,'” Squibb went all out and “just cowed into him.”
Squibb reflected on the story’s themes throughout its production and how close they were to her real life. To her, people tend to treat others differently after a certain age. “They want to lend an arm or a hand…But I am still independent and able to live a life of my own.”
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