Film Review – Thelma

“Thelma” is best described as an updated version of “Carrie,” even though Hollywood already tried to update “Carrie” recently, and it was awful. This time, Norway takes a crack at the horror of a young girl with telekinetic powers, with co-writer/director Joachim Trier (“Oslo, August 31st,” “Louder Than Bombs”) staging a spare, merciless journey of identity and unknowing menace, working in layers of sexuality, religious influence, and shock value along the way. Expectations for a more robust genre experience should be lowered, as Trier isn’t interesting in making a mess with “Thelma,” instead creating a slow-burn nightmare disguised as a coming-of-age drama. It rarely stuns, but the movie has select moments of effectively grim interactions and does well with its depiction of delayed adolescence.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com