Thelma & Louise

Thelma & Louise; drama / road movie, USA, 1991; D: Ridley Scott, S: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Brad Pitt, Stephen Tobolowsky

Thelma and Louise are constant victims of their immature wishes and desires; Thelma got married to an authoritative macho when she was 18, Louise is a waitress. Wanting to get away from their miserable lives for a while, they go for a vacation, but Thelma again falls for a tough guy who tries to rape her - in self-defence, Louise kills him. Fearing the police, the two of them flee in a car, heading towards the Mexican border. On their way, they pick up cowboy J.D. who robs them, so Louise is forced to rob a store. Their getaway becomes more and more problematic, even though one cop, Hal, defends them and begs them to resolve the thing peacefully. But they drive over a cliff.

Tragic drama and one of the key feminist films of the 90s gathered a lot of critical acclaim, won several awards, whereas Susan Sarandon and especially Geena Davis delivered some of their best performances of their careers, equipped with a sweet Texas accent. It is a powerful film about misunderstanding, where director Ridley Scott created a neat mood that's much more concerned with continuation, and much less with the origin of all the problems that Thelma and Louise get into. In the story, namely, too many events end up looking "set up" and fake in order to bring the point across. The two heroines could have proven their independent, emancipated spirit with much more intelligent means than blowing up trucks and wrecking havoc as if they lost their mind. They childishly listen only to tough, macho men, which is why one line from police officer Hal (Keitel) is crucial in the film; "I believe you, but you are acting more and more as if you are really guilty" - he is a rational, introverted man, and sadly, they don't listen to those kind. Why Thelma and Louise are acting the way they do was not quite clarified. The point of the story is clear, how a society is unjust towards women, yet it's too contrived to look truly honest - most of the male characters are cliches. The viewers get what the author wanted to say, but it was done flatly. Still, it's a matter of an ambitious, symbolic and contemplative film that refreshingly puts female characters first.

Grade:++