THELMA (2017) Review
Thelma was to say the least, not what I expected. I thought it was an incredible film with so much to it.
Thelma was to say the least, not what I expected. I thought it was an incredible film with so much to it. The director, Joachim Trier mentions that “cinema should try and engage with an interior process” and I feel that he completely succeeded in doing so in this film. There were three main themes I found throughout the movie, loneliness, control, and the search for identity. These three themes are also all somewhat tied together and are integrated into the narrative structure of the film.
In the beginning of the film there is a scene where Thelma is speaking with her parents talking about her struggle to make friends (7:07). She is lonely and we can clearly see that from the start of the film.There is a certain darkness and isolation to this scene. There is a wide shot of her parents house and it feels like it is in the middle of no where with nothing else around. While we see that shot we still hear her mom speaking off screen, this made me feel a somewhat sense hollowness coming from inside the house. We feel the isolation through the shot choices and cuts. The choice to cut from the shot of the house to Thelma shows how they are somewhat interconnected.
Throughout the film we see her battling with her urges, trying to stay in control. She is tempted with things like alcohol, smoking, and most importantly her sexual desires for Anja. Where we see this the most is in the scene at the theatre when Anja is seducing Thelma as she is trying to battle her urges (39:48). The lights flicker, her hands shake, and we can clearly see her fighting for control. The choices the directer made regarding things like shot sizes, camera angles, lighting, screen direction, mis-en-scene, music etc. all compliment each other in raising the tension of this scene.
There is a scene then towards the end of the film when Thelma is speaking with her dad back home, and in this scene we learn that Anja was in love with Thelma only because Thelma wanted her to be(1:32:00). This is when we truly understand the power Thelma was holding the whole film. This is the moment of realization for not only the audience but for Thelma as well, when everything we were watching comes together. All of this ties into Thelma’s search for identity. Her search for identity is magnified and is also used as a trope in representing the “college student” who is always in search of an identity. The difference is Thelma is able to always get what she wants, but how can you find yourself in a world where you always get everything you desire? In a way we are taken on a journey of her self discovery, once she discovers her powers she discovers herself. It starts with her loneliness, leading to her battle with control, and finally resulting in her finding her who she truly is.
