Some people are calling Joachim Trier‘s “Thelma” his first foray into the horror genre. It is not. “Thelma” is actually an indescribable mix of genres: drama, thriller, family, horror, mystery, comedy and, yes, even supernatural elements infuse Trier’s hypnotic fever dream of a movie.
Beautifully shot by Jakob Ihre with an attention to detail for every frame, the film is a calm, slow-burning character study. Eili Harboe is excellent as the titular character; her talent carries the movie forward in such unexpected ways as her lone wolf college freshman begins to befriend and eventually fall for Anja (Kaya Wikins). The more head over heels she becomes for Anja, the more she starts to change in ways that are too surprising to reveal in this write-up.
Trier’s film is a calm, low key affair that builds up the tension as more is revealed. The 43-year-old director is a sort of hero in his native Norway, where his first three films all became festival hits (“Reprise,” “Oslo August 31st,” “Louder Than Bombs“). With “Thelma,” he’s made an enigmatic movie that tackles female sexuality in ways we haven’t seen before. His vision is strong here, but so is his ability to continuously grab our attention throughout, despite the subtle simplicities of the tale being told.
We spoke to Trier at the 55th annual New York Film Festival about his influences for “Thelma,” female empowerment and what exactly is up with Terrence Malick these days.
What made you decide to delve into the supernatural with your next movie?
I wanted to try a different type of aesthetic to broaden the scope. I was trying to look with my DP at different aspects of the cinema that we were fascinated by. Different types of images, maybe subconscious nightmarish types of situations and feelings.
Is that why you decided to turn to genre filmmaking with this movie?
Well, a film is a film. We are aware that growing up in the ’80s, I remember looking at a lot of more allegorical type of horror films like “Jacob’s Ladder” by Adrian Lyne, and “The Dead Zone” by David Cronenberg. These wonderful kinds of human stories that were still in the realm of dream, nightmare, and supernatural. They ended up being very beautiful but scary at the same time. I was just curious to explore those kinds of images without having to apply all the rules that came with the genre. You could say this is an artsy fartsy guy trying to do a more nightmarish story. When we worked on it we got drawn back to the character study. So, actually, it didn’t feel that different after all. It is the story of a person feeling like she doesn’t know how to accept herself or love herself and become autonomous from her parents, which is, I think, a relatable coming of age tale, but with a more expressionistic framework.
But because this is genre filmmaking, I felt like there was a lot more reliance on plot than your previous films.
Sure, I mean there’s a lot of suspense. There is a lot more concern for the plot whereas in the past I was more concerned with character studies and drama. We wanted to tell an entertaining story as well.
At the same time, in all your films you’re obsessed with alienation, and the character of Thelma definitely suffers from that.
Sure. I’m sure there are themes that are repeating here and I’m realizing these things as I’m finishing the film. The horror from this film comes from within. It’s not about the monsters or the evil of this world, it’s really an internal and morally existential problem where Thelma’s true world is at play in unexpected ways and that’s the true story of the film.
The one movie that kept coming to mind was “Carrie,” did you expect comparisons to be made?
That’s a huge compliment to be made. I’m a fan of both Stephen King and Brian De Palma, obviously “Carrie” is also a coming of age story with supernatural powers, but I think we are doing this story at a different time and this is a story about empowerment. And I’m also very much inspired by George A. Romero‘s “Season of the Witch,” which I find is a great example of an early feminist witch story. We were concerned with not making a film in which Thelma’s powers just have to be evil or that she’s victimized. We were very careful with that. But, sure, Brian De Palma is one of the great directors of all-time…if my movie is compared to his then it’s most definitely a compliment.
There is a sort of female empowerment to this film, don’t you think?
Yeah, I wanted it to be a shoutout to any person, male or female, who felt like a freak and felt like they didn’t belong and didn’t know how to accept themselves in the context of how they were living. The story is also about being gay and I think that, at least in Scandinavian cinema, we’ve had a lack of stories of lesbian love and the complications of that. I think that’s an important aspect of this film as well. Very often gay stories are about men, at least in the Nordic countries, and I think that’s the case in many places for some weird reason. So, I think that kind of sense of alienation and the yearning for self-acceptance is the theme of this film and, without revealing too much, sure it’s about rooting for that character.
How did you find your lead actress? She is so good in this movie.
I agree. Ellie Harboe is wonderful, she is a gift to the film. She’s a star already, she hasn’t done much work, but she has a lot of those qualities. I think we’ll see a lot more of her in the future. Basically she came in and was very eager to nab the part out of the hundred or so that auditioned. She said, “I want to do my own stunts, I’m not afraid of training, I’m not afraid of snakes, I’ll do anything you want to do,” so she had that bravery of taking on such a physically demanding part. But what was even more impressive was how true she is in her performance — so subtle and nuanced — at doing these powerful scenes. She does very good, dramatic, subtle film acting. She’s certainly one of the most impressive film actors I’ve worked with.