Thelma & Louise (1991) Review

My Rating: 8/10

Directed by: Ridley Scott
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 129 minutes

Thelma and Louise are two bright women who tire of their lives and run away from their life and go on a road trip. Thelma is married to a mean and controlling man while Thelma has a boyfriend called Jimmy and works as a waitress. The road trip vacation doesn’t go to plan completely when trouble stirs. The story is fantastic and is a very captivating, emotional and moving story. The film is directed by Ridley Scott, starring Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon, Brad Pitt, Michael Madsen and plenty of others. With director Scott behind the camera, it was topped with excellent direction

Plot:

In the beginning we meet our two characters and see their run down lives. Thelma is an ignored housewife and Louise is a tired waiter. They talk over the phone about running away and Thelma doesn’t tell her husband, leaving him a note and food in the microwave. So they hit the road bringing their suitcases, oil lamp and a gun. Along the way they stop at a club called ‘Silver Bullet’. Thelma and Louise both get rinks and eventually a friendly nice gentleman sits down and talks to the ladies. Thelma takes a shine to him but Louise does not so much. Thelma goes up to dance with him and at one point she begins to feel a little dizzy. So Thelma and the guy go outside to the parking lot. Then it happens. The man attempts to rape her in the parking lot after very abusively hitting her and putting her over the car. That is where the hard hitting drama is indeed. Luckily Thelma got there just in time with a gun in her hand. So the guy lets her go and he says when Thelma and Louise are walking away ‘Suck my cock’. This completely angers Louise and she fires. At this stage they now know they have become fugitives.

The terrific cast:

A whole lot changes for Thelma & Louise after shooting the man. This includes a charismatic armed robbery by Thelma, and blowing up a perverted truck driver’s truck.

The dirty truck driver.

Thelma Dickinson: As I said, she is an ignored housewife who yearns to leave home. She lives with her ‘asshole’ of a husband and is a great character. Played wonderfully by Geena Davis, she really brings the emotion across.

Louise Sawyer:  Louise played by Susan Sarandon, is the character who kills the rapist. So she is the one who has emotional breakdowns, and you can see how intense it is for her.

Detective Hal Slocum: He is probably the nicest and easy going cop ever. He is very co-operative and understanding. Along the journey of Thelma and Louise, there are phone calls made to Thelma’s house to ensure the safety of them, because they are soon seen as armed and dangerous.

J.D: At first J.D appears as a friendly and charismatic young man who needs a lift on the road. Eventually Thelma and Louise bump into him again and pick him up –the first time they did not-. Thelma takes a shine to him and pretty soon we discover exactly what kind of character he is.

On the Run:

I love films that show characters on the run because you never know when they are going to get caught. The character development as I said is superb because they really change from happy women in search for a vacation to fugitives running for their lives. Along the way they pick up a young man called J.D, played by Brad Pitt. I’m starting to like Brad Pitt now and he is a pretty good actor. He was great in ‘Fight Club’ and in ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’. J.D is a robber, and even tells that to Thelma as they sit in a motel together. They go on a very big journey on the road making several stops and I just love how you’ll never know when or where they are going to get caught.

An Extra Thought [SPOILER]

J.D returns again at the motel where they are staying for the night and Jimmy, Louise’s boyfriend is here too. Louise told her boyfriend to wire money over to her, being her life savings of $6, 600. The money is to keep them going on the road. They both have separate rooms. During the night J.D and Thelma get intimate with one another –which we soon discover is for his benefit-. While the scene swaps between Thelma and Louise we see Louise with her boyfriend, talking about their relationship in a melancholy and quiet atmosphere. The comparison is while Louise is having her emotional rush of anxiety and concern with her boyfriend, whom proposes at this time, Thelma is having sex with J.D. She soon wakes up in a very happy mood the next day and when they return to the motel room, they discover the money is gone.

Louise's Boyfriend.

A Dramatic Discovery: [spoiler]

On the journey they have to pass through Mexico in which Louise refuses to do. We learn that something happened to, however unknown until the last 35 minutes of the film. Thelma comes round to saying “Did it happen to you in Texas, you got raped? From Louis’s protective response it’s clear that yes, she was raped at Texas, which tells us the reason she was so angry at the time Thelma was almost raped.

Where the film opens, and ends.

Overview:

I loved this film and was highly emotional and terrific journey of two women who make dramatic changes and have a few laughs on the road. The film won Best original Screenplay in 1991 and is deserving of that. At the end of the film Thelma and Louisa are surrounded by about 14 police cars. They don’t want to be caught so in an act of desperation, they drive into the Grand Canyon. This was a very odd ending but was very symbolic and memorable. The film was a great one to watch and I recommend it. It exposes the stereotypical image of marriage and relationships and takes you on an unforgettable journey.

Ratings:

Screenplay/Story: 8.9/10

Characters: 9/10

Emotion: 8.8/10

Direction & Cinematography: 8.7/10
Visuals & Editing: 8.3/10

Music: 8.3/10

Overall: 8.7/10