Thelma (2024)
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An elderly woman embarks on a perilous journey to reclaim her money from a phone scammer.
The story
93-year-old Thelma Post lives alone in Los Angeles and is frequently visited by her grandson, Danny, who looks after her needs. When a phone scammer posing as Danny calls Thelma, she is tricked into sending $10,000 to a local address. Upon discovering the scam, Thelma finds the police unhelpful and decides to take matters into her own hands. She evades her family and sets out to retrieve her money, reluctantly enlisting the help of Ben, a friend living in assisted living. Together, they begin a journey to the scammer's location, facing various obstacles along the way.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
93-year-old Thelma Post lives alone in Los Angeles. Her grandson, Danny, often visits her, though she finds his constant assistance patronizing. After a phone scammer posing as Danny tricks her into sending $10,000 to a local address, Thelma discovers the truth. Determined to get her money back, she evades her family and enlists the help of Ben, a friend in assisted living. They travel on Ben's scooter to the address, where Thelma steals a gun from an acquaintance to use for the confrontation. After a series of arguments and a mishap where Ben's scooter is destroyed, Thelma continues on foot and eventually reconciles with Ben. They reach the address and discover a scam operation run by Harvey and his grandson, Michael. Thelma confronts them, eventually using Harvey's computer with Danny's remote guidance to transfer the money back. She leaves Harvey $500, scolds him for his actions, and shoots his computer to stop his scam. Thelma is reunited with her family and develops a new respect for Ben, while sharing a poignant moment with Danny about life and roots.
- First release year
- 2024
- Runtime (minutes)
- 98
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Josh Margolin
- Writers
- Josh Margolin · writer
- Cast and characters
- June Squibb · Thelma Post; Fred Hechinger · Daniel "Danny" Markowitz; Richard Roundtree · Ben; Clark Gregg; Parker Posey; Malcolm McDowell
- Genres
- comedy-drama; action
- Themes
- grandparent-grandchild relationships; aging; revenge; independence
- Tone and mood
- comedy-drama
- Premise and plot tags
- based on actual events; independent; revenge
- Source material / true-story basis
- Based on the real-life experience of director Josh Margolin's grandmother.
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews and was named one of the top ten independent films of 2024 by the National Board of Review.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 77 · scale: 100 · review count: 42
- Production trivia
- The character Thelma Post is based on the director's grandmother.; Richard Roundtree's role in the film is his final feature film.; The film includes a mid-credits scene of the director having a conversation with his grandmother.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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