Yes, I know I’m supposed to be getting through the Oscar nominees. But in my defence, Thelma & Louise was on terrestrial TV last week and it felt rude not to since I’d never seen it.
It’s hard to believe that Thelma & Louise was only released in 1991. There are certain films that you just feel have been around forever, and perhaps in this case it’s because it has such cult classic status that it just seems like an older movie. Even whilst watching it seemed older… and I have no idea why. If anyone has any insight into why that might be, please enlighten me.
You probably know the story by now: Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) are BFFs in the truest sense of the acronym. When Thelma is the victim of attempted rape, her best friend jumps to her rescue, shooting and killing a man in the meantime. The rest of the movie plays out as the two women flee across the country to Mexico, avoiding the police for as long as possible.
It’s kind of insane that I’d never seen this before, yet I’d watched Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion 1000 times… but I’m really glad I finally got round to it. (That’s not a sleight on Romy & Michele, by the way, it’s a loving comparison to its themes of female friendship because I’ve been obsessed with that movie since I was about 10 years old.)
On that note, is Thelma & Louise one of the OGs when it comes to portraying female friendship in films? I’d say so. Other than Beaches and Steel Magnolias, I can’t really think of many that come before it, but the fact that this is a Ridley Scott movie really pushes it above a lot of others in terms of how well the film is made. What I appreciated most though? How well Thelma & Louise passed The Bechdel Test despite a male director being at the helm. Maybe screenwriter Callie Khouri deserves more credit since her Academy Award for Best Screenplay was absolutely deserved back in the day.
It could be said that there’s not too much plot going on here really. Aside from Louise killing a man who is on the cusp of harming her best friend, the rest is pretty much just a trek across the country to escape to Central America. Even so, there’s a lot to like about what does occur purely because of the likability of these strong female characters. If this isn’t where the term “ride or die” originated, I’d be very shocked.
As someone who absolutely adores Geena Davis, I have to say I was mostly looking forward to seeing her work here. However, I have to say that Susan Sarandon makes a badass Louise: fiercely loyal, daring, and fearless. I want to be just like her when I grow up. Seriously though, it’s easy to see why female audiences would love this so much, and it’s down to this pair of actresses.
Of course, it’s all a little dated and probably isn’t quite so closely matched to modern feminism as it wants to be. On top of that, it’s over two hours long, which just seems really unnecessary looking back on it. Despite of its flaws though, I’m glad I’ve seen it in its entirety, especially since the ending is so iconic.
Thelma & Louise is currently available to stream on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
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