When you hear the premise of Josh Margolin’s feature debut, “Thelma,” you may think you know what the movie will be. Clearly modeled on his own family (the dedication at the close of the film is “for Thelma,” which suggests he didn’t even change the heroine’s name from that of his real-life grandmother), “Thelma” is a young filmmaker’s touching and funny tribute to the olds. The film immediately establishes the uniquely strong bond between 93-year-old Thelma (June Squibb) and her Gen Z grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger), an affable slacker. Squibb and Hechinger beautifully play this opening sequence, creating a believably deep intergenerational bond without overplaying it or dropping a lot of exposition. Cinema usually only gives us such scenes when the grandchild is a child, not 24, which is a shame because the intergenerational bond between a person in new adulthood and someone who is a veteran sets up a lot of interesting dynamics. Advertisement The film tackles just that by making it clear that Thelma and Daniel have a common problem: they're infantilized, chiefly by Daniel’s parents, Thelma’s daughter Gail (Parker Posey) and husband Alan (Clark Gregg). We are introduced to the couple during their busy respective workdays, which prevents them from answering Thelma's frantic calls. As a result, she gets taken by a telephone scam that costs her $10,000.