Review of Thelma (2017) by Brian M — 08 Apr 2018

This one tested me, and it probably requires a rewatch from me.

First I'll say that I think the movie was marketed and talked about in a very misleading way. It's not a thriller or a horror movie. It's a psychological drama with supernatural elements in it.

I came into it expecting a horror or a supernatural thriller, so when I slowly realized that it's not going to be the case. I got pretty annoyed, had to keep myself from blaming the movie itself.

Now, as what it really is, it's very special. Think of an elevated coming of age drama that uses the supernatural to raise itself above genre cliches. It tells a unique and moody Norwegian tale very patiently, very thoughtfully. A lot of times it felt like the movie was going about its way TOO patiently, but maybe that's coming from my expectation to see a thrilling horror movie and being disappointed by the slow pace of what it really was.

It was incredibly well made. It was visually beautiful. The sets, the lighting, the colours, the cinematography. All were very cohesive and worked well together. The sounds were delicate. Rough when needed. Everything felt very calculated in a good way. The actors were all pretty brilliant.

While the story was unique and held a lot of potential, I felt like at the end I got to explore too little of it. The potential was massive, and we only ever got 2-3 teases of it. I guess the impressions and ideas that it leaves in your head are still worth it.

And despite what I said earlier, I still honestly feel like this movie would be much better if it trimmed a few minutes here and there. It lingers a little too much on almost every scene. I understand the intention of the movie taking its time, immersing us in the mood of the movie, but when done in every scene, it gets tedious.

I would've enjoyed it much more, and with a much clearer mind if I had seen it without the expectations for a thrilling horror movie.