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.

It’s not often that a 93-year-old plays the leading role in a movie, but when that opportunity comes around, there’s not many better than June Squibb to play it. She stars in ‘Thelma’ as the titular character, an elderly grandmother who upon being scammed, takes it upon herself to track down the scammers and claim her $10,000 back. It is a funny and warm comedy-drama with Squibb on great form, ably assisted by Richard Roundtree as her ‘accomplice’ in one of his final movie roles before he passed away last year.

Thelma lives alone in Los Angeles, with her grandson Danny (Fred Hechinger) spending a lot of time looking after her despite her being fairly capable herself. He’s a good grandson but he has been unable to hold down a job and appears to be coasting through life, so it’s not the biggest surprise when she receives a call from him to say he’s been arrested, prompting Thelma to send $10,000 to a local address ostensibly as ‘bail’. After contacting Danny’s parents, she soon realises she has been scammed, and feeling angry at the scammers (and to a lesser extent at the disinterested police and herself) makes her determined to not let them get away with it.

Alongside the undoubted comedy that plays out as Thelma steals/borrows her friend Ben’s (Richard Roundtree) scooter and tries to lose the tail of her daughter, son in law and grandfather, there are some serious themes explored and director Josh Margolin strikes the right balance. There’s a poignancy as Thelma realises that most of her friends have died, moved away or are unable to help for reasons of health, and the scenes between Squibb and Roundtree are sweet as two elderly individuals reflect on their lives. Even when Thelma confronts the scammers it isn’t quite as straightforward as a lesser movie would make it, and it is to the benefit of ‘Thelma’ that Margolin makes more interesting choices than he could have done.

Acting primarily as a late career showcase for the great June Squibb (‘Nebraska’ will always be her highlight!), ‘Thelma’ is a sweet, charming and funny movie with a good story, good performances and at a shade over 90 minutes, a perfectly paced runtime.

Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Josh Margolin

Starring: June Squibb, Richard Roundtree, Fred Hechinger, Clark Gregg, Parker Posey and Malcolm McDowell

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt23778968/