An ironic and affectionate reference to Mission Impossible ("We sent Tom Cruise some clips of the film, and he gave us permission" says the director) acts as a common thread in Thelma, Josh Margolin's comedy, inspired by a real lived experience by the director's grandmother, now 103 years old (who also appears in a short video at the end of the story, ed.).
The film which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival offered June Squibb, born in 1929, a great interpreter of US theatre, TV and cinema (nominated in 2014 for the Oscar for best supporting actress with Nebraska), her first leading role in a career spanning over seven decades.
An acting performance that led Thelma, played among others by Richard Roundtree (who became an icon with Shaft and passed away a few months ago), Fred Hechinger, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg and Malcolm McDowell to be purchased by Magnolia Pictures for wide distribution in the USA in 2024. "I never thought much about the fact that this was my first leading role, until everyone started talking about it - explained June Squibb -. I read the script, I loved it and I decided to make the film and I would have played him even if I only had two scenes, because I felt it. I loved the character, I felt I knew him. It was exhilarating anyway knowing that this time I would be the driving force of the film" .
In her story, June Squibb is Thelma, an independent and brilliant 93-year-old woman who lives alone and has a good relationship with her 20-year-old nephew, Danny (Hechinger), from whom she also learns to use the web.
However, her daily tranquility is shaken when Thelma ends up the victim of a telephone scam, in which they make her believe her nephew has ended up in prison and they charge her 10 thousand dollars for bail.
A moment of fragility that alarms her daughter (Posey) and her son-in-law (Gregg), convinced that she can no longer live alone.
Thelma, however, is not resigned to what happened and she decides to take justice into her own hands by going to look for the scammers.
An 'impossible mission' in which she is also joined by an old friend, one of the few still alive, Ben (Roundtree), using the man's scooter for the elderly (which she initially tried to steal) to get going and taking with her , just in case, another friend's gun.
"For the film I also did a good part of my own stunts, for example I learned to drive the scooter very well, I also amazed the stunt supervisor - said June Squibb -. We went around among the cars, in the traffic and I very entertained. Just as I felt I could physically do other scenes too."
Another part of the fun was filming with Richard Roundtree: "I wish Richard was still here to do it all over again."
In the events involving the director's grandmother,
"She discovered the scam before sending the money - explained Margolin, here in her directorial debut - I then thought about what could have happened if she had sent that money and I am convinced that she would have done everything that June does. That it was the impetus for the plot, even with this slightly action subtext."
The director had already thought about June Squibb as the protagonist: "I've been a fan of her for a long time, and she reminds me a lot of my grandmother. They have the same tenacity, vulnerability and are both incredibly funny."
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