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Posted Film Reviews

Thelma

It’s been two years since her husband passed away and Thelma Post (June Squibb) is adjusting to her new reality. She’s 93 years old and fiercely independent. While Thelma spends most of her days home alone ,she keeps in frequent contact with her grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger) and her daughter Gail (Parker Posey). One day she gets a call from Daniel. He’s in jail and needs her to mail $10,000 in cash to a PO Box address. As Thelma is digging through her hidden stashes of cash,  she’s also trying to reach both Daniel and Gail on her cell phone. Before they can get to her to tell her it was all a scam—an AI voice call mimicking her grandson to extort her out of money—the cash is gone. But Thelma won’t let things slide. She’s going to get her money back.

Even though Daniel, Gail and son-in-law Alan (Clark Gregg) do everything to stop her, Thelma is on a quest. She enlists the help of her good friend Ben (Richard Roundtree) who reluctantly lets her use his electric-powered, two-seat scooter. Thelma and Ben hit the road (and the sidewalks!) to find the scammers. As they navigate their way through various neighborhoods, they reconnect with old friends, avoid familial intervention. This is as much as a recovery mission as it is a journey of self-discovery.  What will happen if they come face-to-face with the  people who dared to scam Thelma?

Richard Roundtree and June Squibb in THELMA, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Richard Roundtree and June Squibb in THELMA, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

Thelma (2024) is a wild ride. It is one of the most entertaining and emotionally satisfying movies to come out in recent years. The film is bolstered by the dynamic screen presence of leading lady June Squibb and a beautiful swan song performance by the late Richard Roundtree.  

Director and writer Josh Margolin—who based the story off of his own grandmother, the real Thelma Post—offers a truly astounding intergenerational story with plenty of moments of tension and humor that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The film captures generational neurosis  at every level—the Gen Z grandson, the Gen X parents and the Silent Generation grandmother and best friend. Everyone thinks they know what’s best for Thelma and try to influence her. But her story is very much about her quest to come to that decision on her own.

In an interview Margolin said that his intention was to not have the audience laugh AT Thelma but rather to laugh WITH her. He absolutely accomplishes this. In no way do we pity Thelma. Instead, we rally with her and champion her on her Odysseus-like quest. 

I recently watched David Lynch’s film The Straight Story (1999) which is also based on a true story and about an elderly protagonist (Richard Farnsworth) on a journey riding  John Deere lawn tractor over 200 miles to spend time with his ailing brother (Harry Dean Stanton). Both films do a beautiful job demonstrating that elder actors can still command the screen and carry a story that can engage anyone at any age. Thelma and The Straight Story would make for a beautiful double bill and I’m very grateful that both films exist in the world.

Thelma is distributed by Magnolia Pictures.

Posted Female Filmmakers

Cora Bora

“I think the problem is you’re not so good at reading situations.”

Cora (Megan Stalter) is awkward as hell. Ever since she left behind her life in Portland, Oregon and moved to Los Angeles to make it as a solo musician, she can’t seem to do anything right. Her open relationship with her girlfriend Justine (Jojo T. Gibbs) is suffering. When she’s not performing terrible sets, much to her frustrated talent agent’s dismay, she’s smoking pot, going to random parties and hooking up with strangers. It seems like every interaction she has with another human being is going to be a painful experience. Cora, or Cora Bora as her parents like to call her, heads back to Portland to attend Justine’s party. But really she’s trying to sabotage Justine’s new relationship with Riley (Ayden Mayeri). Along the way she meets another musician (Manny Jacinto). He’s a caring young man who sees beyond her awkwardness to the cool cat Cora that she used to be.

Written by Rhianon Jones and directed by Hannah Pearl Utt, Cora Bora is a deliciously self-deprecating comedy about a young woman at a crossroads in her life. There is a plot twist later on in the movie that explains why Cora is on this downward spiral. It’s supposed to be an a-ha! moment in the film. However, it would have been more effective if the montage at the beginning of the movie—that depicts Cora playing with her band— led into an emotionally powerful intro that would have endeared the viewer more to Cora and her plight. Having the revelation so late in the story keeps the viewer from cheering Cora on to her eventual reemergence. With that said, it also has the effect of keeping the viewer guessing. We’re another stranger in the story, trying to make sense of this beguiling character whose unlikable until she’s not. Megan Stalter really nails it with her performance as Cora. The awkwardness is done to great effect but never over done. Manny Jacinto, Ayden Mayeri and Jojo T. Gibbs are all really fantastic as the young people navigating the treacherous waters of Cora’s life.

While some of the situations are seemingly implausible, Cora Bora does feel a realistic depiction of younger millennial/Gen Z-er navigating their new adult life. Recommended for anyone looking for a fresh new comedy with a healthy dose of angst.

Posted Documentaries

Museum Town (2019)

“Building MASS MoCA from the ground up consumed the next 28 years of my life. Those of us who took part in its evolution know that we experienced something rare. I’ve moved on from the museum, but I knew I had to finish writing the story I’d started nearly three decades ago.

It was simply too big, too beautiful, too improbable to leave untold.”

Director Jennifer Trainer

When The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) was conceived it was a revolutionary idea. Instead of fitting the mold of what was expected for an art museum, the team behind MASS MoCA sought out a space beyond the confines of a metropolitan center. Presenting contemporary art—which already breaks many rules on its own—in a larger space and in an area you wouldn’t expect meant limitless possibilities but also an uphill battle just to get the project started. MASS MoCA opened in 1999 in the former Sprague Electric factory in North Adams, MA. This small New England city used to be a thriving hub of factories but like many other cities in America felt the economic after effects when many of these factories closed in the 1980s. MASS MoCA took over a large campus of building complete with bridges and moats and 100k square feet of gallery space. They believed in a light touch; keeping the integrity of the buildings and maintaining their historic dignity while also making each building a functional gallery space. MASS MoCA transformed North Adams into an artist’s community and remains one of the largest spaces for contemporary art in the world.

On the 20th anniversary of MASS MoCA, the documentary Museum Town (2019) tells the fascinating story of the museum’s conception, development and present day work all in the scope of the people who made it happen and the community it exists in. The documentary was directed by Jennifer Trainer, a journalist who in the mid 1980s covered the story of MASS MoCA’s conception and soon became part of its development, Museum (2019). It includes narration by Meryl Streep as well as various talking heads, including local politicians, museum curators and a volunteer who had worked for over 40 years at Sprague and continued to dedicated herself to the campus that had meant so much to her. I was particularly interested in how the film followed the exhibition of artist Nick Cave known for his mixed media art which includes sculptures, found objects and performance art. We get insight into what it takes to plan and install a large scale contemporary art exhibit.

Museum Town beautifully captures a community in transition and a space that offers limitless possibilities for displaying contemporary art in its many forms. It will have you booking your trip to North Adams for a visit.

Museum Town (2019) is available on DVD from Kino Lorber. Thank you to Kino for sending me a copy for review.

The documentary is also currently available to stream on Kanopy and the Kino Film Collection.

Still from the film The Miracle Club
Posted Film Reviews

The Miracle Club

It’s 1967 in Ballygar, a community in Dublin, where three friends of three different generations gather to mourn the death of one of their own. Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates) and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey) soon come face to face with the friend’s daughter, Chrissie (Laura Linney), who fled Ballygar for the United States and hasn’t been back in nearly four decades. When the church wins a contest for a pilgrimage to Lourdes, Lily, Eileen, Dolly and Chrissie travel to the holy site. Each of the women must confront their individual problems and help each other while searching for the miracle that can possibly change their lives for the better.

Directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan, The Miracle Club is a heartfelt story about societal expectations when it comes to relationships and life choices.

The film has a gentle message of acceptance as the characters try to connect with Dolly’s non-verbal autistic child. Despite the title and the characters’ journey, the film isn’t all that religious. The pilgrimage to Lourdes seems more like a cultural milestone than an event sprung from any sort of religious fervor. This movie will appeal to both Catholics and non-Catholics who are seeking tender story delivered without a heavy hand.

The four leads shine and Smith, Bates and Linney in particular continue to prove their star power. We need to continue to embrace stories about older women and intergenerational relationships. This film is one example about how these stories can be told and told well.

The Miracle Club reminded me of two movies in particular. The story line about an exiled woman returning to her small town after a big scandal drove her away reminded me of The Dressmaker (2015) starring Kate Winslet. If you’re interested in a more dramatic piece about the Sanctuary of Our Lady Lourdes pilgrimage site, I highly recommend Austrian filmmaker Jessica Hausner’s excellent film Lourdes (2009) starring Sylvie Testud. If you want to learn more about that film, check out the article I wrote about Lourdes for the Turner Classic Movies website.

The Miracle Club is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.

Posted 1 Comment on You Can Live Forever Female Filmmakers

You Can Live Forever

For 16 year old Jaime (Anwen O’Driscoll), life will never be the same. When her father dies suddenly of a heart attack, her distraught mother sends her from their home in Thunder Bay, Ontario to Montreal, Quebec to stay with her aunt Beth (Liane Balaban) and uncle Jean-Francois (Antoine Yared).  They are devout Jehovah’s Witnesses and Jaime must attend religious services with them if she’s going to live with them. At the Kingdom Hall Jamie meets Marike (June Laporte), a fellow teenager who immediately catches her eye. The two develop a strong emotional bond that quickly becomes something romantic. Jaime is caught in between two worlds and leans on her friend Nathan (Hasani Freeman) who becomes a much needed ally outside of her family’s religious community. 

You Can Live Forever is an astounding queer drama that accurately depicts what life is like in a close knit—and closed off—religious community.  Anwen O’Driscoll and June Laporte bring an intensity to their roles that is palpable. They convey so well the bond between these two teenagers and the pain of having to keep their love for each other secret. It was fascinating to watch Jaime’s outsider perspective as she’s thrust into this new world that has its own language, custom, culture and expectations. I only wish that Nathan’s character had more to do in the story. 

The film is written and directed by Mark Slutsky and Sarah Watts and Watts herself grew up queer in a community of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In her director’s statement Watts writes:

“I grew up gay in a Jehovah’s Witness community in a small northern town. As a teenager, I was eager to see a story with a character who even remotely resembled me on the movie screen. But I was always disappointed. For years, [Mark and I] worked together to create a film that could honor my own background and the experiences of other young people in a similar predicament. You Can Live Forever is the movie I always wanted to see as a teenager.”

There are very few depictions of Jehovah’s Witnesses in film and almost always the filmmakers get some aspects of that religion’s culture wrong. You Can Live Forever is spot on in every single aspect. Every single one. Even down to the style of chairs found in a Kingdom Hall, the specific language used in the community and even the annoyance felt when others call them “Jehovahs” instead of Jehovah’s Witnesses. How do I know that the depiction of this religion is accurate? Because I grew up in this religion myself.  It’s been nearly two decades since I stepped inside of a Kingdom Hall. You Can Live Forever  brought all of those memories back. Like Watts, this is a movie I would have wanted to have seen as a teen. I repressed my own sexuality for many years, due to my upbringing, and film like this would have given me a much needed mirror. I commend Watts and Slutsky for bringing to life such a beautiful, honest and touching queer drama. 

Side note: In one scene Jaime has a poster of Heavenly Creatures (1994) hanging up on her dorm room wall.  Like You Can Live Forever, that film explores an intense emotional bond between two teenage girls. It was an important film for me in my teen years and I appreciated spotting this reference.

You Can Live Forever (2022) is currently available to rent on VOD and is coming to Blu-ray on June 6th from Good Deed Entertainment and Kino Lorber.

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