The Denver Film Festival is behind us now and the coming months will bring all the Oscar contenders into view. We’ll get to the latter soon. In the space between, I review a few films that didn’t get the attention they deserved during the year. These are two smaller films that will both delight and move you—two things that we sorely need in our world right now. There is even a great deal of humor in them, something I don’t cover all that much in these pages. We need that now as well.

Thelma (2024)

This riot of a movie begins with the unlikeliest of heroes in a demographic we don’t get to see very much: the eponymous character is a 93-year-old woman (the wonderful June Squibb) who sets out to find the men who scammed her out of $10,000. Her journey is not a silly, unrealistic one that defies age, physics, or logic. It is an adventure that stays within its limits and functions in a world we understand and feel. The surface-level plot is fun, slapstick at times, screwball at others, and wildly funny. Beyond the surface, the film says a lot about aging, our societal views of the aged, and the limitations we put on ourselves and others. It works on all levels.

Writer-Director Josh Margolin smartly doesn’t try to do too much in his directorial debut: he keeps the story in focus and his camera centered on Squibb throughout. The style also mirrors the action, as the elderly protagonist moves deliberately through her plan, step-by-step, during the film. She has the help of her bumbling grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger) and friend Ben (Richard Roundtree), a nursing home resident who joins her on the journey and becomes her trusty sidekick. Thelma’s daughter Gail (the quirky Parker Posey) and son-in-law Alan (Clark Gregg) are the perfect worried, sometimes dense, and always caring sandwich-generation couple who mean well but don’t always see the trees through the forest of their child and mother/mother-in-law. The entire cast, led by the spitfire that is Squibb, comprises an endearing troupe that recalls the great comedies of classic Hollywood cinema.

We laugh with Thelma throughout, but the film is not without its beautiful, contemplative, and even poignant moments. If you are in that sandwich generation, or even exiting it on either—or both—sides, you will see a great deal of yourself here. And sooner than we like to think, we are going to be in Thelma’s shoes. Let’s hope we have her spirit and verve.

Available on demand.

Ghostlight (2024)

This wonderful indie from writer-
director Kelly O’Sullivan and co-director Alex Thompson was a festival favorite during this past year, debuting at Sundance and then finding a distribution deal soon after. It is smart, touching, endearing, and ultimately, a tear-inducing drama that breaks us before putting us back together. This film is exactly the reason I wished to write this column some thirteen years ago. It is why I still want the write the column: to bring films such as this to you.

The story concerns a family in some sort of crisis that is not immediately apparent but is slowly revealed throughout. The father, ill-tempered construction worker Dan (Keith Kupferer) is prone to outbursts; daughter Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) is a foul-mouthed and tempestuous teen who always seems to be on the verge of an outburst; and mother Sharon (Tara Mallen), who is even-tempered and trying to keep the family together. The story turns when Dan (somewhat reluctantly and even hilariously) joins a community theater production of Romeo and Juliet. Art then begins to parallel/imitate life as the family trauma is revealed and then redeemed through rehearsals, family honesty, and the final, heart-wrenching performance.

In one respect, this is a very simple film: there are no cinematic flourishes through the camera or editing; the settings are simple and real; the coloring is natural Midwest-grey throughout, and there is nothing jarring about the editing. The writing, the story, and the acting are the roots of this film, and the empathy grows from there. The depth then shines through: it comments on family trauma, on the healing powers of art, on the fleeting power of dreams, on the elusiveness of calm, and on the fierce emotion of the family unit. This is a film that will move you in many ways, and in the end, it will lift you.

Available on demand.

Quick hits: I gave you two films that you can watch at home this month since it is one of the busiest months of the year. There are also several streaming options for TV series that may interest you.

The Diplomat

This Netflix show’s second season just dropped, and if you saw season one, you will once again love season two since it is more of the intelligent writing and brilliant acting that we saw in the first season. Keri Russell is excellent in the role of the U.S. Ambassador to England and Rufus Sewell as her husband will certainly get an Emmy nomination for best supporting actor. The entire cast is stellar, and the inimitable Allison Janney now makes it even better.

Lioness

Finally, for a more action-oriented political thriller, the second season of Lioness is now streaming on Paramount+. Again here, the writing is excellent in this brutal portrayal of a CIA black ops team led by a ruthless Zoe Saldana. The moral dilemmas here keep us thinking long after the lights are out. Beware watching this before bed.

Vincent Piturro, PhD., is a Professor of Film and Media Studies at MSU Denver. Contact him directly at vpiturro@msudenver.com or follow him on Twitter. For more reviews, search The Indie Prof at FrontPorchNE.com.