Thelma & Louise (1991)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Taking a break from their dreary lives, close friends Thelma and Louise embark on a short weekend trip that ends in unforeseen incriminating circumstances. As fugitives, both women rediscover the strength of their bond and their newfound resilience.
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What sets “Thelma & Louise” aside from the great central tradition of the road picture -- a tradition roomy enough to accommodate “ Easy Rider ,” “ Bonnie and Clyde ,” “ Badlands ,” “ Midnight Run ” and “ Rain Man ” -- is that the heroes are women this time: Working-class girlfriends from a small Arkansas town, one a waitress, the other a housewife, both probably ready to describe themselves as utterly ordinary, both containing unexpected resources.
Scott’s widescreen compositions capture the expansiveness of the heat-soaked Southwest plains; however, with the exception of a stunning Joan of Arc-inspired ending, Scott’s gift for slick visual splendor is wasted on a run-of-the-mill Bonnie and Clyde-ish tale posing as profound social statement.
What sets “Thelma & Louise” aside from the great central tradition of the road picture -- a tradition roomy enough to accommodate “ Easy Rider ,” “ Bonnie and Clyde ,” “ Badlands ,” “ Midnight Run ” and “ Rain Man ” -- is that the heroes are women this time: Working-class girlfriends from a small Arkansas town, one a waitress, the other a housewife, both probably ready to describe themselves as utterly ordinary, both containing unexpected resources.
It's as if he'd taken all the famous movies about two self-destructive outlaws films like Easy Rider, Badlands, The Sugarland Express, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Zabriskie Point, even Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat!
It's as if he'd taken all the famous movies about two self-destructive outlaws films like Easy Rider, Badlands, The Sugarland Express, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Zabriskie Point, even Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat!
It's not "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" with women, either, although its actresses certainly exert an equal magnetism.
It's as if he'd taken all the famous movies about two self-destructive outlaws films like Easy Rider, Badlands, The Sugarland Express, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Zabriskie Point, even Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat!
Like the flamboyant outlaw heroes of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” Thelma and Louise experience the thrill of liberation experience the thrill of liberation on the wrong side of the law.
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It's as if he'd taken all the famous movies about two self-destructive outlaws films like Easy Rider, Badlands, The Sugarland Express, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Zabriskie Point, even Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat!
Though his career has included some inexplicable clinkers (" Someone To Watch Over Me ,") it has also included "Thelma & Louise," " G.I. Jane ," " Gladiator " (unloved by me, but not by audiences), " Black Hawk Down " and " Matchstick Men ."
Where director Ridley Scott ("Blade Runner," "Alien") goes overboard is in introducing some "Alien"-size hardware into this personable comedy-drama.
Ridley Scott, the director who gave us Ripley in "Alien," wouldn't allow it, and for that matter, neither would Davis or Sarandon.
Written with great wit by first-time screenwriter Callie Khouri and directed as a change of pace by stylist Ridley Scott ("Alien," "Blade Runner," "Black Rain"), "Thelma & Louise" could have been a man-hating feminist thriller, a violent female variation on themes from any number of road movies that have been made about men.
The victim, a would-be rapist, deserves what he gets, and at this point, the women could turn themselves in, but because director Ridley Scott (''Alien'') wants to take this show on the road, the girls decide against going to the law.
“Thelma & Louise” was directed by Ridley Scott , from Britain, whose previous credits (“ Blade Runner ,” “Black Rain,” “ Legend ”) show complete technical mastery but are sometimes not very interested in psychological questions.
Written with great wit by first-time screenwriter Callie Khouri and directed as a change of pace by stylist Ridley Scott ("Alien," "Blade Runner," "Black Rain"), "Thelma & Louise" could have been a man-hating feminist thriller, a violent female variation on themes from any number of road movies that have been made about men.
This is an odd movie, traversing "The Accused" territory one minute and ''Smokey and the Bandit" the next.
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What sets “Thelma & Louise” aside from the great central tradition of the road picture -- a tradition roomy enough to accommodate “ Easy Rider ,” “ Bonnie and Clyde ,” “ Badlands ,” “ Midnight Run ” and “ Rain Man ” -- is that the heroes are women this time: Working-class girlfriends from a small Arkansas town, one a waitress, the other a housewife, both probably ready to describe themselves as utterly ordinary, both containing unexpected resources.
Hannah and Joanna Cassidy, the snake dancing replicant, aren't quite as resilient as Lt. Ripley in "Alien," but we see their moxie reiterated in the heroines of Scott's 1991 road movie, "Thelma & Louise," the 1989 thriller "Someone to Watch Over Me" and the saucy hussies in his Chanel perfume advertisements.
Seeing it now, in the light of Scott's "Thelma & Louise," "Blade Runner" more obviously becomes a poem of alienation, rebellion and its consequences: of exploitation and institutionalized brutality, of a world teetering on apocalypse.
Where director Ridley Scott ("Blade Runner," "Alien") goes overboard is in introducing some "Alien"-size hardware into this personable comedy-drama.
“Thelma & Louise” was directed by Ridley Scott , from Britain, whose previous credits (“ Blade Runner ,” “Black Rain,” “ Legend ”) show complete technical mastery but are sometimes not very interested in psychological questions.
Anyhow, this is Scott's best film since "Blade Runner."