Thelma
Directed by: Joachim Trier
Written by: Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt
Starring: Eili Harboe, Henrik Rafaelsen, Kaya Wilkins, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Steinar Klouman Hallert
Drama/Mystery/Romance - 116 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 28 Nov 2017
Written by: Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt
Starring: Eili Harboe, Henrik Rafaelsen, Kaya Wilkins, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Steinar Klouman Hallert
Drama/Mystery/Romance - 116 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 28 Nov 2017
Thelma isn’t the first conservative girl from the countryside and a strict, religious family to make her way to the big city. But Joachim Trier’s fourth film is not your standard good girl gone bad tale. In between experimenting with alcohol and discovering she may be a lesbian, Thelma’s conflicting feelings of lust, guilt, and fear break free from their internal struggle and manifest themselves in destructive ways upon the outside world. Thelma has seizures, birds crash into windows, and people even disappear. While the film may sport the horror label, there are no killer clowns or jump scares; Thelma is a strong character-based story, a human-oriented horror.
Remember David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone? Johnny Smith could learn a person’s secrets through physical contact but could not form meaningful relationships. Thelma, even though her powers are just awakening, can cause people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do, a situation far removed from true feelings if any amount of coercion is involved. We get to know Thelma as a strong yet vulnerable girl. Away from home as a college freshman, Thelma studies biology, swims, is open to new experiences, but has trouble making new friends. Her biology studies don’t help her relationship with mom and dad back home either who do not take kindly when Thelma mocks people who believe the Earth is only 6,000 years old.
Remember David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone? Johnny Smith could learn a person’s secrets through physical contact but could not form meaningful relationships. Thelma, even though her powers are just awakening, can cause people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do, a situation far removed from true feelings if any amount of coercion is involved. We get to know Thelma as a strong yet vulnerable girl. Away from home as a college freshman, Thelma studies biology, swims, is open to new experiences, but has trouble making new friends. Her biology studies don’t help her relationship with mom and dad back home either who do not take kindly when Thelma mocks people who believe the Earth is only 6,000 years old.
Even though she is the protagonist and has the supernatural powers, Thelma (Eili Harboe) does not come across as evil. She’s scared and confused, but not intentionally malicious. Through understated mechanisms, Trier may be saying religious repression is the original evil catalyzing future tragic consequences. Parents impose upon their children what they believe in; it’s your privilege as a parent. However, there comes a time when all children attempt to self-liberate, discover their individuality, and seek autonomy. For many, these are the tumultuous teenage years and collegiate phase. Ever feel like you’re a freak and you don’t belong? Are you alienated from what society expects from you because deep down you know you are not that person? Thelma endures these doubts and we experience her feelings of love and grief through a supernatural lens.
The supernatural is a departure for Trier whose first three films are dramas. Thelma is also Trier and writing partner Eskil Vogt’s first central female character. Trier’s typical human conflict and existential dilemmas remain, similar to his Oslo, August 31st and Louder Than Bombs; these arcs do not change because he flips the gender. But Thelma’s growing lack of control over her own body and including dreamlike images keeping the audience off balance as to whether or not an event is happening in the real world is new territory for the Norwegian director.
Playing around with form, Trier films some of the most beautiful images he has ever created. Multiple scenes start from long, overhead shots which slowly zoom in on the character we are about to follow. There is a tense scene in the Norwegian Opera House, which should be one of the most stale locales imaginable, but becomes suspenseful through Trier’s cinematic tricks, and check out the long take of Thelma on the phone with her father (Henrik Rafaelsen, Happy, Happy). Trying to explain why she is so upset, Thelma lies and says she feels terrible because she drank alcohol instead of the real reason which is because she is falling in love with a girl. The room is dark, still, and there are no edits. Trier wisely lets us empathize with the girl and stays out of the way.
When she is with Anja (Kaya Wilkins), Thelma feels normal and well on her way to that liberation she is looking for. However, Trier must be mindful for accusations of voyeurism. He is a filmmaker in his forties filming erotic moments between young girls. Recall when Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue is the Warmest Color shocked its audience with its graphic sex scenes. Nothing in Thelma approaches that level of physicality; the atmosphere is more sinister and tragic, and above all, it's a family story.
Norwegians are outdoorsy folk and Trier displays their values of nature and walking in the woods with dad. These themes are turned on their head when dad points a loaded rifle at then six year-old Thelma’s skull, but we find out later he may have his reasons. There are fears of being trapped under water and scenes of the ultimate parental nightmare where you are right there but can do nothing to save your child. Nobody ever said coming-of-age was easy. These supernatural elements are an expressionistic framework to show Thelma breaking free from dad and her upbringing. They are not over-the-top, do not overshadow the characters, and their minimalist interactions are a prime reason why Thelma is Norway’s submission to the Best Foreign Film category at the 90th Academy Awards. Don’t fear Thelma; we all trudged through awkward growing pains. I assume none of us disappeared anybody though.
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