Written by: Callie Khouri
Starring: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald
Rating: [4.5/5]
Reaching a point of no return for someone indicates the sunk cost fallacy at its most dangerous where they might as well fully indulge in their dangerous actions. Nothing’s left to lose, which allows the person involved to throw all remaining caution to the wind, which is seen in quite the joyous and liberating manner captured in Thelma & Louise. A beautiful story of the sisterhood of two women coming together through quite a contentious situation.
Both unhappy with their current lives, Thelma (Genna Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) decide to go on a fishing trip together to get away from it all. After stopping by a bar where Thelma is about to get sexually assaulted, Louise shoots the man dead and after they get spotted as suspects, they remain on the run trying to get to Mexico before the authorities grab them.
For such a fun film in the adventure these two women get themselves into, it remains impressive how ahead of its time Thelma and Louise continues to feel even in 2023 in the way it captures femininity. Seeing as this film saw its initial release in 1991, it’s fair to say not many films sought to have conversations about women in the way this feature decides where they seek this level of liberation. They let go of all preconceived notions of what they should withstand in their domestic lives and set forth to give their lives their all making for such an entertaining film to watch.
Mixed in with all of the dramatics the film offers, they still very much enjoy this road trip and what this feeling to Mexico provides for them. They have more fun together than they could have ever imagined allowing for moments of fun held between them. Watching the trailer highlights exactly that as they continue to grow in their confidence of actually pulling off their goal of reaching the south side of the border. Seeing who these women are from the opening scene to who we see in the closing moments demonstrates the complete liberation of these women emotionally and mentally as they have decided to succumb to whatever comes next but at the very least they will go down with big smiles on their faces and vibrant love for each other.
With all of the fun the feature has, it inherently contains a sadness in the lives these two women lead specifically in relation to the men in their lives. We definitely see this with Thelma where she’s married to an emotionally abusive man and does not have much else going for her because of him. While Louise does not have the same issues, she does not have complete satisfaction in her life with the man she’s currently dating. Their relationships with men come mired with regret and longing for so much better and this feature does nothing to ease their minds that what’s out there will get any better. What they encounter during this trip in regard to the men shows the prevalence of how these women get seen as a vessel for these men to get what they want. It becomes clearer with each interaction they encounter.
The murder that takes place setting everything off for this feature comes from an attempted rape of Thelms by a man who took a liking to her at the bar and the entire interaction sums up elements of these character’s lives that incites rage. A moment all women fear when alone with a strange man but on this occasion, Louise refuses to let it go to its inevitable conclusion without intervention. A release of rightful female rage that makes the moment satisfying because of the horrific misdeeds they’ve encountered that they wish they could retaliate. However, being on this road trip gives Louise the freedom and bravery to stand up to what will transpire making the moment incredibly impactful and it certainly has a knock-on effect on the rest of the feature with the FBI on their tail for the rest of the runtime.
Through the search for them, we get the introduction of Arkansas State Police Detective Hal Slocumb portrayed by Harvey Keitel. Of all the men the feature has to offer not representing the best the gender has, he comes the closest to demonstrating a level of decency in how he wants to bring in the women. He comes with a level of understanding of what transpired to cause the murder but still needs to complete his task of arresting them and letting the justice system play itself out. The way he speaks to them heavily contests with the other officers he works with and even when interacting with Thelma’s husband, who’s a completely and utter tool in the way he speaks to her and aids in the search for them. Even when serving as the man trying to take them down, he comprehends their plight in a manner where he wants it to go as easily as possible.
Bringing quite the connection together in Susan Sarandon and Genna Davis, Thelma & Louise remains radical in its approach and something wholly enjoyable because of these characters we easily fall in love with. We get two characters who share the similar plight of operating this world as women and find a way to break free from these shackles. Sure, it puts them in the place where they must flee from the police but that’s the cards they’ve been dealt. Quite the film within the diverse filmography of Ridley Scott and certainly sits among the very best of what this director has crafted.
Films with Josh 
