“Sheer Force of Will” | Josh Margolin, Thelma
The feature directorial debut of Josh Margolin, Thelma is a poignant action-comedy that gives veteran Oscar nominee June Squibb (Nebraska) her first leading role and features the final performance of trailblazing actor Richard Roundtree (Shaft).
Squibb, who did most of her own stunts in the film, plays Thelma Post, a feisty 93-year-old grandmother who gets conned by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson (The White Lotus’ Fred Hechinger) and sets out on a treacherous quest across Los Angeles, accompanied by an aging friend (Roundtree) and his motorized scooter, to reclaim what was taken from her. Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, and Malcolm McDowell also star.
Screening Saturday, May 4, at 4:15 p.m. at the Music Box, as part of the Chicago Critics Film Festival (get tickets now), Thelma puts a clever spin on movies like Mission: Impossible, shining the spotlight on an elderly grandmother as an unlikely action hero. With infectious humor, Margolin employs the familiar tropes of the action genre in hilarious, age-appropriate ways to tackle aging with agency. In the first leading film role of her 70-year career, Squibb portrays the strong-willed Thelma with grit and determination, demonstrating that she is more than capable of taking care of business – despite what her daughter Gail (Posey), son-in-law Alan (Gregg), or grandson Danny might believe.
Ahead of Thelma playing the Chicago Critics Film Festival, Margolin graciously took the time to answer this year’s CCFF filmmaker questionnaire. Below, his individual responses.
How did you first become interested in filmmaking? What was your path toward directing your first film?
I got hooked pretty young. As soon as I got my hands on a camera, I became obsessed with making things. I studied theater in college and, in my early twenties, I was more focused on performing, but I was always writing and working on short-form projects with pals — sometimes acting, sometimes writing, sometimes editing. I feel like years of wearing many hats was great preparation for directing. Certain aspects felt new and intimidating, but others felt surprisingly familiar albeit from a slightly different vantage point. I’d been circling the idea of doing it for a while, and Thelma just felt like something I knew I needed to make.
Courtesy of Josh Margolin.
What inspired you to make the film you're bringing to the festival?
The movie is inspired by something that actually happened to my grandma, Thelma. She got tricked by phone scammers pretending to be me and almost sent them thousands of dollars for my bail. Luckily, my family intervened before money exchanged hands, but seeing her duped in that way was definitely unsettling. She’s always been so unflappable. I wanted to write something that celebrated her tenacity, while also reckoning with aging, anxiety, and how we navigate transitional moments in our lives.
Tell us about a film that you consider a guiding influence (whether it has informed your overarching vision as a filmmaker, directly informed the title you're bringing to the festival, or both).
For this project, specifically, the Mission: Impossible films were a huge source of inspiration. I find something about Tom Cruise hurling himself out of a plane for our entertainment weirdly life-affirming. The sheer force of will feels spiritually connected to my grandma and the grit I’ve seen her display moving through the world. I got really excited about the idea of taking these larger action tropes and shrinking them down to dramatize her quest for autonomy.
Tell us about a location that's held significance to the film you're bringing to the festival: a setting where filming took place, a geographic area that provided a source of inspiration, or another type of space that comes to mind for you in thinking about the film. What made this place so special?
We shot some of the movie in my grandma’s actual condo. That place is so synonymous with her in my mind and getting the chance to film there was really special. It was also very surreal to be there with our cast, playing versions of me and my family, in the actual space where I spent so much of my life and childhood.
The theatrical experience brings us together to celebrate artistic experience and expand our horizons as human beings. Tell us about a memorable theatrical experience from your life.
This is a weird one, but I remember going to see The A-Team remake at an AMC in 2010. For whatever reason, the movie didn’t start on time, so we were all just sitting there, waiting. Then, Jamie Lee Curtis stood up in the front row and said, “I’ve got this.” She walked out and came back about five minutes later, just as the lights went down. Everyone cheered. I can’t say I remember what happened in the movie itself, but I’ll never forget when Jamie Lee Curtis saved the A-Team.