Thelma & Louise

Plot

Two friends, Thelma Dickinson and Louise Sawyer, set out for a weekend vacation at a fishing cabin. Thelma, a housewife, is married to disrespectful and controlling carpet salesman Darryl, while sharp-tongued Louise works as a waitress. When Louise arrives to pick her up, Thelma admits that she was too timid to ask Darryl if she could go, so she left him a note instead. He has already left for his job. She packed Darryl's gun in her purse and showed it to Louise, who admonished her for bringing it.

The pair stops at a roadhouse bar. The waitress brings them drinks paid for by Harlan, a regular at the bar. Thelma is happy to have the attention of a man other than Darryl and dances with him, despite Louise's disapproval. When Thelma says she feels sick, Harlan takes her outside to the parking lot and tries to rape her. Louise intervenes with Darryl's gun and threatens to shoot him. As Thelma and Louise walk away, Harlan yells that he should have continued the rape, causing Louise to fatally shoot him in a fit of rage. The two women immediately drive off. Thelma wants to go to the police, but Louise fears that no one will believe a claim of attempted rape, as Thelma was seen drinking and dancing with Harlan and that they would be facing a murder charge. She tells Thelma she is going to flee to Mexico.

At a gas station, Thelma calls Darryl, who demands that she come home immediately. She tells him off and lets Louise know she's coming to Mexico. J.D., a handsome and charming young drifter, approaches the women asking for a lift out west, and a reluctant Louise allows it when Thelma takes a liking to him. Louise contacts her non-committal musician boyfriend Jimmy, asking him to wire her life savings to her, but refuses to give a reason. He surprises her by delivering the money in person. He becomes angry in the hotel room when Louise doesn't answer his questions, and she goes to leave. He then apologizes and gives her a diamond ring, prompting her to question his timing. They spend the night together.

Meanwhile, J.D. talks his way into Thelma's room. She learns he is a convicted armed robber who has violated the terms of his parole. They make love, the first time Thelma has had an enjoyable sexual experience.

The following morning, Louise tells Jimmy that she won't marry him. Jimmy leaves, devastated. Thelma later tells Louise about her night with J.D. Louise panics when she realizes Thelma left him alone with the money, and the women run to the room to discover he has stolen Louise's savings and fled. Louise is distraught, so a guilt-ridden Thelma takes charge and later robs a nearby convenience store using tactics she learned from J.D.

Meanwhile, the FBI closes in on the duo after witnesses at the bar identify Louise's 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible. Led by Arkansas State Police Investigator Hal Slocumb, the police question J.D. and tap into the phone line at Darryl's house. Slocumb sympathizes with the pair's situation and understands why they did not report Harlan's killing. During a few brief phone conversations with Louise, Hal expresses his concerns but is unable to persuade her to surrender.

Later, Thelma and Louise are pulled over by a New Mexico state trooper for speeding. Knowing he will soon discover they are wanted for murder and armed robbery, Thelma holds him at gunpoint and locks him in the trunk of his police car. Driving further west, they encounter a foul-mouthed truck driver who has repeatedly made obscene gestures at them. They pull over and demand an apology from him; when he refuses, they fire at his fuel tanker, causing it to explode.

The FBI locates the women, who lead them on a high-speed chase. They are finally cornered by the authorities, only 100 yards from the edge of the Grand Canyon. Hal arrives on the scene, but the women refuse his last attempt to talk them into surrendering. Rather than be captured, Thelma proposes that they "keep going". Both kiss and hold hands as Louise steps on the gas and, as Hal desperately pursues them on foot, they accelerate over the cliff.

Cast

• Susan Sarandon as Louise Sawyer
• Geena Davis as Thelma Dickinson
• Harvey Keitel as Det. Hal Slocumb
• Michael Madsen as Jimmy Lennox
• Christopher McDonald as Darryl Dickinson
• Stephen Tobolowsky as FBI Agent Max
• Brad Pitt as J.D.
• Timothy Carhart as Harlan Puckett
• Lucinda Jenney as Lena, The Waitress
• Jason Beghe as State Trooper
• Marco St. John as Truck Driver

Production

Development

The idea for Thelma & Louise originated in early 1988 when Callie Khouri, then a music video producer, was driving home from work to her apartment in Santa Monica. She spent the following six months working on her first screenplay, which drew inspiration from her own experience and her friendship with country music singer Pam Tillis. She had intended it to be a low-budget independent film, directed by herself and produced by fellow music video producer Amanda Temple (wife of British filmmaker Julien Temple).

After shopping the project around and finding no takers, Temple showed the script to her friend Mimi Polk Gitlin, who ran Ridley Scott's Percy Main Productions (later Scott Free Productions). Gitlin showed the script to Scott, who expressed great enthusiasm for it. He agreed to produce the film and bought the film rights for $500,000. Pathé Entertainment, then led by Scott's friend and collaborator Alan Ladd Jr., came on board as a co-producer and financier.

Scott considered four people for the role of director, all of whom turned down the opportunity. Gitlin has said that three of the candidates were Bob Rafelson, Kevin Reynolds and Richard Donner. Scott was reluctant to direct the film himself but eventually took on the role, having been persuaded by Michelle Pfeiffer.

Casting

Michelle Pfeiffer and Jodie Foster were originally chosen for the leads; both accepted their roles with enthusiasm. During pre-production the two dropped out, with Pfeiffer going on to star in Love Field and Foster in The Silence of the Lambs. Pfeiffer later said she regretted passing on the film. Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn then offered to play the leads, but Streep dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, while Hawn was not considered right for the part (a year later, in Death Becomes Her, Hawn and Streep played the lead roles). Geena Davis (who had been pursuing the lead role for nearly a year) and Susan Sarandon were ultimately chosen. The two took extensive driving and shooting lessons in preparation for their roles.

Scott convinced Harvey Keitel to take on the role of Hal, the sympathetic Arkansas detective. The two had previously collaborated in Scott's feature directorial debut, the 1977 film The Duellists. Davis recommended her ex-boyfriend Christopher McDonald for the role of Darryl, Thelma's controlling husband. Scott wanted Michael Madsen for Harlan, Thelma's would-be rapist, but Madsen was unwilling; he eventually played Jimmy, Louise's boyfriend. Brad Pitt auditioned for the hustler J.D.; Scott thought he was "too young" for the role so they moved on, and the part was offered to William Baldwin. Pitt eventually secured the role after both Baldwin and his replacement dropped out. Christian Slater, River Phoenix, George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Grant Show, John Mellencamp, Dylan McDermott, James LeGros, and Dermot Mulroney were also considered for the role of J.D. Davis tested scenes with Clooney, Show, Ruffalo and Pitt, and advised the directors to choose Pitt.

Filming

Principal photography for Thelma & Louise began on June 11, 1990, and concluded on August 31, 1990. Although the setting for the film is a fictional route between Arkansas and the Grand Canyon, it was filmed almost entirely in California and Utah. The primary filming locations were rural areas around Bakersfield, California and Moab, Utah. The Grand Canyon scenes were filmed just south of Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah. Parts of the film were also shot at Shafer Overlook, Monument Valley, La Sal Mountains, La Sal Junction, Cisco, Old Valley City Reservoir, Thompson Springs, Arches National Park, and Crescent Junction in Utah. Of filming his love scenes with Davis, Pitt said that it was awkward being nearly naked with everybody standing.

Soundtrack

Pete Haycock on slide guitar contributed to Thunderbird, the theme music for the film. In addition to Glenn Frey's "Part of Me, Part of You", which became the film's primary theme song, the soundtrack included songs performed by Chris Whitley ("Kick the Stones"), Martha Reeves ("Wild Night", written by Van Morrison), Toni Childs ("House of Hope"), Marianne Faithfull ("Ballad of Lucy Jordan", written by Shel Silverstein), Charlie Sexton ("Badlands"), Grayson Hugh ("I Can't Untie You from Me"), B.B. King ("Better Not Look Down", written by Joe Sample and Will Jennings), Michael McDonald ("No Lookin' Back"), The Temptations ("The Way You Do the Things You Do", written by Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers), and Johnny Nash ("I Can See Clearly Now").

Release

Thelma & Louise was screened out of competition as the closing film at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. Theatrical release was delayed due to financial turmoil at MGM-Pathé. The film eventually opened in American theaters on May 24, 1991 and was a box office success, grossing $45 million within the country.

Home media

The film was released on VHS on January 8, 1992 by MGM/UA Home Video. It proved especially successful in the home video market; with 380 000 copies being shipped throughout the United States, it became the most rented movie of 1992.

In February 2023, The Criterion Collection announced the film would be joining the collection in May that year.

Reception

Upon release, Thelma & Louise received largely positive reviews, which several publications described as "rave". Janet Maslin of The New York Times had only praise for the film in her review:

Roger Ebert also praised the film, writing, "What sets Thelma & Louise aside from the great central tradition of the road picturea tradition roomy enough to accommodate Easy Rider, Bonnie and Clyde, Badlands, Midnight Run and Rain Manis 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." He added, "This film shows a great sympathy for human comedy", and "Sarandon and Davis find in Callie Khouri's script the materials for two plausible, convincing, lovable characters. And as actors they work together like a high-wire team, walking across even the most hazardous scenes without putting a foot wrong." However, Ebert deducted half a star from his four-star review on the basis of "the last shot before the titles begin. It's a freeze frame that fades to white, which is fine, except it does so with unseemly haste .... It's unsettling to get involved in a movie that takes 128 minutes to bring you to a payoff that the filmmakers seem to fear."

The film also received harsh criticism from those who thought it was biased against men and that its depictions of men were unfairly negative. In response to these criticisms, Maslin and Khouri claimed that Thelma & Louise was being subjected to a double standard, as unethical behavior in male-driven road movies had not provoked a similar level of backlash. Maslin argued that viewers were simply offended at how "men in this story don't really matter... They are treated as figures in the landscape through which these characters pass, and as such they are essentially powerless. For male characters, perhaps, this is a novelty, but women in road movies have always been treated in precisely the same way." In response to claims that the film had no sympathetic male characters, Khouri pointed to the character of Hal Slocumb, the Arkansas detective who shows empathy for Thelma and Louise’s situation. Khouri said that Hal represents "the moral sense of the audience". She also said she wrote the script in "a conscious effort to counter" Hollywood's tendency to portray women as "bimbos, whores and nagging wives." Khouri added, "If [critics are] feeling threatened, [they're] identifying with the wrong character."

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 87% based on 156 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Driven by the ride-or-die chemistry between Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon while director Ridley Scott provides scorching visuals fit for a postcard, Thelma & Louise is a feminist adventure that's equal parts provocative and rollicking." On Metacritic, the film received a score of 88 based on 12 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

The film placed second to The Silence of the Lambs as the best film of 1991 in a poll of 81 critics.

Accolades

American Film Institute

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers - #78
• AFI's 100 Years…100 Heroes and Villains - #24
• AFI's 100 Years…100 Thrills - #76

The British Film Institute published a book about the film in 2000 as part of a Modern Classics series. On the Writers Guild of America Award's list of 101 best screenplays released in 2006, it made No.72.

Legacy

The final scene, where the title characters embrace before driving off a cliff, has become iconic. Numerous homages and parodies of the scene have appeared, including alternate film endings, cartoon parodies, video game "Easter eggs", and as a tragic ending to television series, music videos, and commercials. After the film's release, there were reports of a few incidents where people appeared to copy Thelma and Louise's ending by driving off the edge of the Grand Canyon.

After watching the film, singer-songwriter Tori Amos wrote "Me and a Gun", the story of her rape several years earlier.

Feminism

Many critics and writers have remarked on the strong feminist overtones of Thelma & Louise. Film critic B. Ruby Rich praises the film as an uncompromising validation of women's experiences, while Kenneth Turan calls it a "neo-feminist road movie". Jessica Enevold argues that the film constitutes "an attack on conventional patterns of chauvinist male behavior toward females". In addition, it "exposes the traditional stereotyping of male–female relationships" while rescripting the typical gender roles of the road movie genre.

In her review for the Los Angeles Times, film critic Sheila Benson objected to the characterization of the film as feminist, arguing that it is more preoccupied with revenge and violence than feminist values.

In an article commemorating the film's 20th anniversary in 2011, Raina Lipsitz of The Atlantic called it "the last great film about women" and said that it heralded the achievements of women that caused 1992 to become "the year of the woman". However, she also said that women-themed films have since been losing ground.

Stage adaptation

In early 2021, it was announced that Khouri was adapting the film as a stage musical alongside Halley Feiffer, with original songs by Neko Case, and Trip Cullman attached to direct. In January 2023, a workshop reading was held starring Amanda Seyfried and Evan Rachel Wood.

Notes

References

|author-link = Roger Ebert |access-date = July 7, 2018 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20150605094001/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/thelma-and-louise-1991 |archive-date = June 5, 2015 |url-status=live |access-date = July 7, 2018 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20140704191153/http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/08/thelma-louise-the-last-great-film-about-women/244336/ |archive-date = July 4, 2014 |url-status=live |author-link = Janet Maslin |access-date = July 7, 2018 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20180707133634/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/24/movies/review-film-on-the-run-with-2-buddies-and-a-gun.html |archive-date = July 7, 2018 |url-status=live |access-date = July 7, 2018 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20180707143258/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/pete-haycock-guitarist-with-the-climax-blues-band-who-went-on-to-write-film-music-for-john-badham-8958117.html |archive-date = July 7, 2018 |url-status=live |access-date = January 27, 2024 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20121005202056/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-07-07/features/9103170610_1_thelma-and-louise-thelma-dickinson-louise-sawyer |archive-date = October 5, 2012 |url-status=live |author-link = Writers Guild of America West |access-date = July 7, 2018 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20161122211118/http://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-greatest-screenplays/list |archive-date = November 22, 2016 |url-status=live

Works cited

• {{cite book

|author-link=Marita Sturken

References

1. "Thelma & Louise (1991)". [[American Film Institute]].
2. "Thelma & Louise".
3. Weller, Sheila. (February 11, 2012). "The Ride of a Lifetime". [[Vanity Fair (magazine).
4. Lang, Brent. (October 10, 2017). "Michelle Pfeiffer on Her Hollywood Hiatus and Return to Superhero Films".
5. Gillette, Sam. (June 27, 2017). "Brad Pitt's Sex Scene in Thelma and Louise: Inside the Shoot".
6. Kimble, Lindsay. (April 28, 2016). "Susan Sarandon & Geena Davis Talk Thelma & Louise, George Clooney's Audition".
7. Harris, Hunter. (June 27, 2017). "Brad Pitt's Breakout Role in ''Thelma & Louise'' Almost Went to Robert Downey Jr..".
8. (March 1, 2017). "John Mellencamp is Still Making Music for Everybody, No Matter Who They Voted for".
9. (2022-10-22). "'I was screwing up his audition': Geena Davis on the moment she knew Brad Pitt was perfect for Thelma & Louise".
10. "Movies filmed in the Moab area".
11. (2010). "When Hollywood Came to Town: A History of Moviemaking in Utah". Gibbs Smith.
12. (2018-11-13). "Thelma and Louise soundtrack and songs list".
13. (July 2022). "Various – Thelma & Louise (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)".
14. "Festival de Cannes: Thelma & Louise".
15. (July 8, 1996). "The Predator: How an Italian thug looted MGM, brought Credit Lyonnais to its knees, and made the Pope cry". [[Fortune (magazine).
16. Gibson, Caitlin. (April 20, 2016). "25 years ago, 'Thelma & Louise' was a radical statement. Sadly, it still is.". [[The Washington Post]].
17. (January 3, 1992). "'Thelma & Louise' riding into the stores". Chicago Tribune.
18. Hunt, Dennis. (May 29, 1992). "'Thelma & Louise' Sets a Speed Record". [[Los Angeles Times]].
19. (January 1, 1993). "Tops on tape". [[Bristol Herald Courier]].
20. (February 15, 2023). "'Thelma & Louise,' 'Petite Maman,' and More Coming to Criterion in May".
21. Sawyers, June. (July 7, 1991). "Callie Khouri Answers Critics Of 'Thelma And Louise'". [[Chicago Tribune]].
22. "Thelma & Louise (1991) – History".
23. (June 13, 1991). "'THELMA & LOUISE' A '90S 'EASY RIDER'". [[Chicago Tribune]].
24. (June 15, 1991). "'THELMA & LOUISE' ODYSSEY IS TO '90S WHAT 'EASY RIDER' WAS TO '60S".
25. Shulins, Nancy. (July 7, 1991). "Women writers create contemptible male characters". [[Tampa Bay Times]].
26. McNary, Dave. (May 28, 1991). "Backdraft' smokes into No. 1 spot at box office". [[United Press International]].
27. (June 24, 1991). "Gender Bender Over Thelma & Louise".
28. (June 19, 2021). "'Thelma & Louise' Reunion: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis Talk Film's Shocking Reception, Predictions it Would Change Hollywood: "We're Still Waiting"". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
29. (June 16, 1991). "FILM VIEW; Lay Off 'Thelma and Louise'". The New York Times.
30. Rohter, Larry. (June 5, 1991). "The Third Woman of 'Thelma and Louise'". The New York Times.
31. "''Thelma & Louise''".
32. "''Thelma & Louise''".
33. "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
34. (January 12, 1992). "And the winner is... - the Washington Post". [[The Washington Post]].
35. "The 64th Academy Awards (1992) Nominees and Winners". [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].
36. "AFI Past Winners - 1992 Winners & Nominees". [[AACTA Awards]].
37. "1992 – Bodilprisen". [[Bodil Awards]].
38. (July 27, 2018). "BSFC Winners: 1990s". [[Boston Society of Film Critics]].
39. "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1992". [[British Academy Film Awards]].
40. "Best Cinematography in Feature Film". [[British Society of Cinematographers]].
41. (January 2013). "1988-2013 Award Winner Archives". [[Chicago Film Critics Association]].
42. "The 1992 Caesars Ceremony". [[César Awards]].
43. "The 44th Annual DGA Awards". [[Directors Guild of America Awards]].
44. "Thelma & Louise". [[Golden Globe Awards]].
45. (February 27, 1992). "3 London Film-Critic Awards Go to 'Thelma & Louise'". [[Chicago Tribune]].
46. "The Annual 17th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards". [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]].
47. (June 3, 2012). "A look back at 1992 and the first annual MTV Movie Awards". [[Uproxx]].
48. "1991 Award Winners". [[National Board of Review]].
49. Rainey, James. (December 14, 2016). "'The Birds,' 'The Lion King,' 'Thelma & Louise' Join National Film Registry". [[Variety (magazine).
50. (December 19, 2009). "Past Awards". [[National Society of Film Critics]].
51. (December 18, 1991). "Film Critics Honor 'Silence of Lambs'". [[The New York Times]].
52. "Film Hall of Fame Productions". Online Film & Television Association.
53. (March 18, 1992). "PAGES: PEN Center West Honors Writers". [[Los Angeles Times]].
54. "Awards Winners". [[Writers Guild of America Awards]].
55. "AFI's 100 Years…100 Cheers".
56. "AFI's 100 Years…100 Heroes & Villains".
57. "AFI's 100 Years…100 Thrills".
58. Valentine, Genevieve. (July 2, 2017). "How Thelma & Louise Drove Hollywood 'Off The Cliff'". [[NPR]].
59. "References Thelma and Lousie".
60. (1 November 2013). "Best GTA 5 Easter Eggs: UFOs, Bigfoot, Playboy Mansion, and more!".
61. (2 July 2015). "All the cult film references in 'Bitch Better Have My Money'".
62. Ouzounian, Richard. (June 6, 2011). "Driving off a cliff into movie lore". The Star.
63. (7 February 2012). "Couple die in 'Thelma & Louise suicide' off 350ft cliff". Daily Mirror.
64. (2023-04-24). "Grand Canyon Deaths [2023]".
65. (February 15, 1999). "Chasing Away the Demons". 20/20.
66. (November 11, 2017). "Tori Amos on Her New Album and the "Muses" That Inspire Her Songs". CBS This Morning.
67. Rich, B. Ruby. (February 18, 2003). "Two for the Road".
68. Dunne, Michael. (2001). "Intertextual Encounters in American Fiction, Film, and Popular Culture". Bowling Green State University Popular Press.
69. Enevold, Jessica. (2004). "Gender, Genre & Identity in Women's Travel Writing".
70. Benson, Sheila. (May 31, 1991). "True or False: Thelma & Louise Just Good Ol' Boys? : For all its craftsmanship, the Ridley Scott film is just a high-toned 'Smokey and the Bandit' with a downbeat ending and a woman at the wheel". [[The Los Angeles Times]].
71. Meyer, Dan. (January 23, 2021). "Thelma and Louise Musical in the Works From Screenwriter Callie Khouri".
72. (2023-01-13). "Amanda Seyfried and Evan Rachel Wood Workshopping a 'Thelma & Louise' Musical Adaptation (EXCLUSIVE)".