Thelma and Louise (1991, USA)

Director

Ridley Scott

Cast

Susan Sarandon (Louise), Geena Davis (Thelma), Harvey Keitel (Slocombe), Michael Madsen (Jimmy), Christopher McDonald (Darryl)

Screenplay

Callie Khouri

Format

Live action, colour

Language

English

Running time

127 minutes

Classification

15

Distributor

MGM Home Video

Genre

Road movie

Setting

Present day, southern United States

Main characters

Thelma and Louise

Narrative focus

Thelma and Louise on the run

Synopsis

Thelma and Louise are friends from Arkansas who, unsatisfied with their lives, decide to take a weekend road trip. Soon after setting out, their plan goes awry when Louise shoots dead a man who attempts to rape Thelma. On the run, they head for Mexico, where they hope they will be beyond the reach of the law of the United States. On the way they have to deal with a range of mostly unsavoury men, but they also dream of breaking free from their past lives. The police are in pursuit, led by a detective, Slocombe, who does all he can to understand the women and prevent a violent showdown. Slocombe, it emerges, has knowledge of Louise's past and this is significant in his appeal to her and Thelma to give themselves up. As they cross the American landscape, Thelma and Louise divest themselves of their former lives and develop a better sense of their strengths and weaknesses. Thelma comes to realise that her marriage to Darryl is far from fulfilling and Louise realises that the past cannot be forgotten.

Background

This was Callie Khouri's first attempt at a screenplay for a feature film and it went on to win the Oscar for Best Screenplay in 1992. She has recently directed her first feature film, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002). Ridley Scott had made two hugely popular films, Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982), before directing Thelma and Louise. More recently he has directed Gladiator (2000) and Black Hawk Down (2001). Originally, Scott had planned only to produce the film.

British director, Ridley Scott has been widely recognised and frequently praised for featuring strong, proactive women characters. He is also noted for taking familiar genres (horror, science fiction) and adding fresh elements. Thelma and Louise is a road movie but also a modern-day Western. It takes an established genre and inflects it with a contemporary sensibility. In response to the film's success, Hollywood began producing more films featuring ensembles of female protagonists, pitched at female audiences.

Thelma and Louise has become iconic, and continues to enjoy a strong following. Apparently, many women, in America at least, follow the route taken by Thelma and Louise aspiring to the sense of freedom and escape from the mundanities of life that the film represents. Numerous websites attest to the effect the film has had on people.

Commentary

The film, while dealing with some quite serious issues, has elements of a screwball comedy about it, particularly in Thelma's slightly whacky character. It dramatises the frustrations of women trapped in their lives, who experience a sense of release as they flee into the open landscapes of the Southwest of the United States. The camerawork makes the landscape reflect and enhance the sense of freedom that Thelma and Louise experience. Because of their crimes, and because of their rejection of their past lives, the film offers no way back for them into society:

Finally we end with two women sitting in a car and making a decision. They have tasted power. They cannot go back, only forward. Their final gaze, before they drive off the cliff and into the imaginary, is at each other. Clasping hands they decide to continue onward. They make a choice. That is all we need to know.

Also recommended

Dance with a Stranger (UK, 1985, Mike Newell) is based on the true story of Ruth Ellis who, in 1955, was the last woman in Britain to be hanged. She murdered her lover and her conviction and execution remain controversial.

Teaching suggestions (Key Stage 4, age 14-16)

Citizenship focus

• Legal and human rights and responsibilities underpinning society, basic aspects of the criminal justice system and how they relate to young people
• The work of parliament, government and courts in making and shaping the law.

Subject link

Geography: landscapes in the USA

Freeze frame

Watch the scene in the bar before the attempted rape. Stop the film before Louise shoots the man.

• If this was used as video evidence in a courtroom what arguments might the prosecution lawyer make?
• What arguments might Louise's defence lawyer make?

Pause the film where the line of police cars corner Thelma and Louise at the climax of the film.

• How are the police represented as the enemy?
• How are Thelma and Louise represented as the victims?
• What do you think Thelma should do in this position?
• What do you think the ending of the film means?

Discussion

The following questions can be used as a starting point to focus discussion before generalising the issues that the film raises.

• Identify examples of sexism Thelma and Louise encounter in the film?
• What is Thelma's approach to dealing with sexist comments or sexist behaviour at the beginning of the film?
• What is Louise's approach to dealing with sexist comments or sexist behaviour at the beginning of the film?
• How does Thelma's approach change during the course of the film?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of Louise's approach to conflict resolution?

Formal debate

Should capital punishment be abolished where it still exists?

Set up a panel of three speakers, one to make the case 'For', one 'Against' and one to introduce each speaker. Chair the debate, then invite the class to vote.

Simulation

• Ask students to imagine that they are film researchers working on a documentary about capital punishment and death row in the United States. They should find out about real people living on 'Death Row', the crimes they committed and any examples of miscarriages of justice and/or last minute pardons.
• Set up a courtroom debate with a judge and jury, witnesses and lawyers. Two students should make the closing arguments, one for the defence and one for the prosecution. Twelve students should act as members of a jury to discuss whether Louise should be found guilty of murder or acquitted on the grounds of self-defence. If she is found guilty she would receive the death penalty in America.

Practical production work

Students could make:

• A short documentary to explore the impact the film might have had on public opinion in relation to the criminal justice system.
• A short campaign film about the death penalty or gun law.