Movies
“Thelma & Louis” Has One Of The Best Friendship Portrayals Ever
“Two best friends set out on an adventure, but it soon turns around to a terrifying escape from being hunted by the police, as these two girls escape for the […]
“Two best friends set out on an adventure, but it soon turns around to a terrifying escape from being hunted by the police, as these two girls escape for the crimes they committed.”
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Callie Khouri
Staring: Susan Surandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen
Release Date: May 24. 1991
IMDB
Let them cook. Let them cook indeed.
Thelma & Louis (1991) is an early Ridley Scott project, but it stands the test of time. While the visual storytelling is spectacular in its own right, nothing can top the chemistry that Susan Surandon and Geena Davis share on screen with one another.
Louise (Susan Surandon) is a diner waitress longing for adventure and Thelma (Geena Davis) is an underappreciated wife who is in need of an escape. The two life-long friends agree to take a road trip, but this long weekend get-away turns into a life-altering race against the law when Louise kills a man who attempted to rape Thelma.
The killing happens in a flash, leaving the audience as shocked as Thelma & Louis. The pair drive away and it’s Louis who is rattling off her thoughts about the situation and what to do next while Thelma is freaking out. The dynamism between Thelma & Louise shifts throughout the story as each take turns brimming with confidence or struggling with reality.
On the course of their run from the law, Thelma & Louis meet a handful of characters. J.D., played by Brad Pitt, is a drifter who shows Thelma more interest in a night than her husband in a lifetime. One of the best running bits of the movie is the truck driver, who is played by (though uncredited) Marco St. John. The truck driver is a story device to show the change in the women and how they approach those who disrespect them. Thelma & Louis absolutely torment this truck driver in their final interaction and it is laugh out loud funny.
There are a pair of Reservoir Dogs (1992) actors getting to know each other before they share the screen in Tarantino’s premiere. Credit to Harvey Keital and Michael Madsen for getting their grips into a pair of young filmmakers before their rise to prominence.
Kietal has the part of Hal, the main man chasing after Thelma & Louis. He is the one putting the puzzle pieces together and talking to all the ancillary characters who touched the lives of ladies on the run. Hal grows a bit of a fondness for the pair, specially Louise who he talks most with on the phone. Hal is the only one that understands Thelma & Louis. It is the burden he bears.
Madsen plays Jimmy, the romantic interest for Louise. Though, their relationship is strange. Jimmy proposes to Louise, but Louise doesn’t want to be locked down and her circumstances of being free and on the run don’t allow her to put a ring on it. She has the opportunity for security, but she turns it down. She has the opportunity for a man to care and love her the way that Thelma dreams of. But she turns down.
Madsen plays the part of Jimmy with a sadness that comes from experience. It is like he has traveled down this road with her and he knows where it goes but he can’t not finish it.
The performances are the main reason Thelma & Louise works, but special shoutouts need to be given to the cinematographer, Adrian Briddle, and the composer Hans Zimmer. For the record, I had no idea that it was Zimmer who composed this, but seeing how I responded to it viscerally, it makes sense.
The question I have after watching and responding to Thelma & Louis is where does this rank in terms of best duo performances. I immediately think of Bonnie And Clyde (1967), Al Pacino and Reobert De Niro in The Godfather: Part II (1974), and Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta in Pulp Fiction (1994). I haven’t seen Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969) or Some Like It Hot (1959).
Thelma & Louis was nominated for six Academy Awards at the 1992 Oscars. The only category where it took home the award was by Callie Khouri for Best Original Screenplay.
Both Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon were nominated for Best Actress but lost to Jodie Foster for Silence Of The Lambs (1991). Ridley Scott was nominated for Best Director, but lost out to Jonathan Demme, for Lambs again. Thom Bomble lost in Film Editing to Joe Hutshing and Pietro Scalia for JFK (1991). JFK’s Robert Richardson won Best Cinematography over Adrian Biddle.
As of August 2023, Thelma & Louis is streaming on Paramount+.
STANKO RATING: A-
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