Thelma & Louise (Special Edition) [DVD] [1991]

There is a feminist slant to the film; most of the men (including a gorgeous young Brad Pitt) are negative, emotionally and morally weak characters. The two main character's development is fascinating; Thelma loses her naivety and Louise learns to accept help. Thelma and Louise, despite their increasingly bad behaviour, remain strong, good characters, elicitng support and affection from the audience.

The film's ending is legendary. It immortalises these two characters and their plight, it is incredibly tragic and after watching this film for the first time, I cried for a good half an hour afterwards because it was just so sad. Yet there is also something positive and life-affirming in the women's retention of their freedom and cementing of their friendship.

Thelma and Louise is now a cult film. The acting is honest and impressive. The landscape is beautiful and the music enhances the film's atmosphere. The Oscar winning screenplay is incredible, and Ridley Scott's direction complements it perfectly. The DVD extras include audio commentaries by the director, writer and stars; the alternate endings provide a different perspective of the famous climax. There are a wealth of extras on this DVD, but they are by no means the selling point of the movie: it stands alone as a cult classic; "provocative, poignant and a triumph of moviemaking" could not be more true!

By the time of this incident, Thelma has mutated from a subdued and insecure housewife to a self-assured, fearless queen of the highway. ("Something has crossed over" in her, she tells Louise shortly before their final encounter with their truck-driving nemesis.) Louise in turn, who had taken the lead early on in their flight from the police, has overcome her intermittent bout of despair and is back to her old self, too. Now wanted not only for questioning in connection with the death of the rapist shot by Louise but also for armed robbery in another state, knowing that being questioned by the police will inevitably add a charge of murder for the incident which set off their run (and probably also knowing deep down inside that there is not going to be a happy ending to their weekend trip anyway), Thelma and Louise have stopped to care what is going to happen next. Thus emboldened, they make a last great run for it, which ultimately leads them to the vast, endlessly deep gorges of the Grand Canyon.

"Thelma and Louise" is all and none of the things as which it has been described. It is about the friendship between two women, about female independence and male sexism, but it is neither a simple "chick flick" nor a monument to feminism (although I have to admit that watching it can have an almost therapeutic effect when you've just about "had it" again with the male slightly-less-than-half of society). Most of the men that Thelma and Louise encounter are two-dimensional cartoon characters, but "Reservoir Dogs" and perpetual tough guys Harvey Keitel and Michael Madsen (of all people) are cast against stereotype. The movie also features some absolutely stunning pictures of the Southwestern scenery and mostly takes place on the road, but it is not just a "road movie" (feminist or otherwise). More than anything, this is a movie about the things that shape the way we are, and about the consequences of our actions. Had Thelma learned to use her brain before and not after their encounter with Harlan the rapist, she would have seen him for what he was and avoided him from the start. Had Louise not been raped herself, she would probably not have shot Harlan at being provoked by him, after the self-defense situation was already over. Impulse? Fate? Justifiable homicide? Hardly. Thoroughly understandable? Absolutely, at least from a woman's point of view.

It takes two extraordinary lead actresses to carry the movie's theme, and Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis are the perfect embodiment of the characters they portray. Next to them, not even Keitel and Madsen really shine (although this may be in part due to the thankless parts they play); only Brad Pitt, in the role that made him an overnight star, briefly gets to sparkle. Callie Khourie was a deserving winner of the 1991 Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Screenplay, and both Sarandon and Davis would have been equally deserving of the Best Leading Actress awards. So would have Ridley Scott for Directing, Adrian Biddle for Cinematography, Thom Noble for Editing and the movie itself, for Best Drama - in a year that produced many extraordinary films, it might have been more just to split some of the awards among several contenders, and despite the strong competition ("Bugsy," "Silence of the Lambs," "Prince of Tides," "The Fisher King," "Grand Canyon" and "Fried Green Tomatoes," to name just a few), it seems sadly underrated for a movie that has long since become a cult classic to only have won one of the awards it was nominated for, both on Oscar Night and at the Golden Globes.

The basic plot is that two women decide to go for a weekend away. At the first stop they make, a man tries to rape one of them and is killed. They decide that the police won't believe their side of the story so they decide to make a run for it. As they do, they get deep into trouble but feel freer at the same.

The men are equally interesting. Keitel plays a policeman who suspects what may have happened but, due to their interstate run, has his hands tied by the FBI. Thelma's husband is just short of abusive but Louise's boyfriend is a kind-hearted person who has only just realised how much Louise really means to him.

Will Thelma and Louise make it out of the country? Will Louise and her beau get it together? Will Thelma find love herself?

What I loved about the film was the fact that the plot was character driven. We see how the two main characters change along the way and how they deal with the hand that they've been dealt.

The special features are good. The documentary is wonderful but is best watched after you see the film. The promotional video gives away too much of the plot. The Sarandon/Davis/Callie commentary sounds rather like a girly chat. The Ridley Scott commentary is informative but, to a certain extent, makes the viewer feel a bit like answers to questions asked at a job interview as he is very detailed about his CV and his thoughts/techniques (both in this film and in others).

In short -- it's a brilliant film which some good (and bad) extra features.