Movie Review: 'Thelma'

Thelma is a fascinating and immersive supernatural drama that never fails to surprise. Director Joachim Trier, on his third feature following the remarkable duo of Reprise and Louder than Bombs, has crafted the most unlikely and unusual coming of age story that I have ever seen. Bristling with the awkward tension of newly discovered sexuality and a dangerous supernatural awakening, Thelma is among the most refreshing takes on the coming of age tale you could possibly imagine.

Thelma (Elli Harboe) is a sheltered teenager who has left home for the first time to attend college. Thelma’s over-protective parents, Trond (Henrik Rafaelson) and Unni (Ellen Dorrit Petersen), hover over every aspect of her life, calling nightly to ask about everything from classes to what she’s having for dinner. For the first few weeks of class Thelma is so tied to her phone by her parents’ calls that she fails to get out and learn to make friends.

Thankfully, that begins to change when Thelma meets Anya (Kaya Wilkins). Anya was in the college library when poor Thelma had what appeared to be an epileptic seizure. Anya cradled her head until the seizure passed and paramedics arrived. Later, Thelma and Anya meet again at the school pool and they make plans to hang out. Sheltered Thelma is excited to have made her first friend, so excited that she fails to see that Anya is thinking of her as potentially more than a friend.

As Thelma awakens to Anya’s feelings and begins to process her own feelings that she can hardly begin to understand from her cloistered religious upbringing, the film begins to take a dark turn. Thelma’s epileptic seizures, unbeknownst to her, have begun to affect the outside world, as if she were sending powerful psychic waves into the universe. As she seeks treatment for her seizures, Thelma begins to recover memories of her powers having a similar kinetic power when she was a child. This revelation leads to a shocking reveal.

Equating sexual awakening to powerful psychic energy is not a new concept, Carrie famously covered the same ground as both a book by Stephen King and a movie by Brian DePalma nearly 40 years ago. What makes Thelma standout however, is director Trier’s terrific eye for visuals and his steady-handed pacing which serves to amp the tension in terrific and unexpected ways. The flashback reveals are a bit of a cliché but there is a power to them that most similar thrillers fail to achieve. Thelma sets big stakes and wins for the most part.

Elli Harboe delivers a revelatory performance in the title role of Thelma. Harboe communicates innocent, childlike curiosity effortlessly but it’s when Thelma goes dark that her performance turns into a genuine powerhouse. The chemistry between Harboe and Kaya Wilkins is off the charts. The dynamic is sexy but also very emotional with Thelma first trying to control her feelings to keep her "seizures" in check and then finding out her powers and wondering, quite painfully, whether she has manipulated Anya’s affections without having known it.

Joachim Trier has crafted a remarkably unsettling and beautiful movie. His command over the pace and tone is remarkable, as is his casting. All of the pieces of Thelma coalesce into a remarkable whole that has weight, drama, suspense, and entertainment value all at once. Thelma is sexy without being exploitative, and strange without being campy. It’s a remarkable combination of European art movie and mainstream coming of age supernatural horror movie. The film toys with familiarity and cliche and works around those limitations via the smart and unexpected choices of a terrific director.

Thelma is in limited release in the U.S as of November 20th. There is no word when the film, Norway’s entry into the Academy Awards race, will be available on home video or on-demand.