Thelma
Directed by Joachim Trier
- drama
- mystery
- thriller
The story
A college student starts to experience extreme seizures. She soon learns that the violent episodes are a symptom of inexplicable abilities.
What it’s like
Cool, desaturated Norwegian daylight, Oslo rendered in pale blues and grey-greens, with the warmth arriving only in interiors lit by lamps and the glow of a student bedroom at night. Long, composed takes hold on faces and quiet rooms, the camera often still while small gestures and glances do the work, and when something seizes the frame it shakes loose into sudden, hard cuts. The score is sparse and eerie, low drones and muted strings that swell under unease rather than announce scares. The vibe is chilly, watchful and quietly feverish, suited to a late, lonely night with the lights low. Pacing is measured and deliberate, building slowly toward a tense, uneasy crescendo, and the emotional register stays intimate and frightened rather than gory: a sheltered young woman discovering a hidden, frightening power and the desire that comes with it, with a growing sense of dread. Intensity is moderate: several violent seizures and some sexual content, with blood and injury shown briefly rather than lingered on, and fear that stems from the uncanny more than from gore. Made for viewers who like slow-burn psychological horror, atmospheric Scandinavian drama, and stories where repression and the body turn unsettling.
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