Thelma and Louise

Back to the main review

What’s the Story?

The titular heroines (or anti-heroines) of this movie are two Arkansas women looking to get away from the men in their lives for a weekend of fun. Before they reach their destination, they stop off for a drink, but, when Thelma (Geena Davis) is almost raped, Louise (Susan Sarandon) shoots the would-be rapist. They then travel across the southwestern United States attempting to avert the law. Thelma and Louise take some rather strong actions against their aggressors throughout their journey, but their plight is not entirely own. Rather, it's expressive of the oppression that many women experience in society. Thelma's husband doesn't listen to her and orders her around like a child; Louise's boyfriend is unwilling to commit and often drunk. Even a male hitchhiker with whom Thelma becomes involved ultimately leaves her after stealing her money. The one redeeming male character may be the sympathetic detective Hal Slocumb (Harvey Keitel) who tries to convince the women to surrender to the law, but his decent efforts are drowned out by the bombast of masculine aggression surrounding the women by the end of the film.

Is It Any Good?

As polarizing as it was popular, THELMA AND LOUISE made a huge splash when it was originally released in 1991. It's is an updated, feminized version of an outlaw road movie. Still quite potent today, the film's no-holds-barred approach to confronting the subservient position thrust upon females in society hasn't been matched in the time since its release.

Chock full of great performances and dramatic scenes, this is one truly amazing film that crystallizes a moment in feminist social history for all time. However, scenes involving rape, the glorification of suicide, and destruction of property makes this film inappropriate for kids.