Bought the movie from a pile of discount DVDs as the name carried some good reputation. I was expecting a crime flick in the style of Bonnie and Clyde, but the film proved a great disappointment.
First of all, Thelma and Louise might have been striking if it had been filmed in 1960's. However, for the modern times, with all expressed consent legislation and no means no laws, the premise that law enforcement would not believe a woman's claim of having been raped is simply not at all believable. The burden of proving innocence lies solely on the man. Nevertheless, this supposed female oppression forms the basic premise of the film. Unfortunately it does not simply work anymore in a legal system dominated by feminism.
Rather than from the point of victimhood, the movie should be in my opinion seen as a feminist fantasy of violence and sexuality. From the point of the shooting onwards the movie tears away from realism. The two deepest wishes of the women are fulfilled: Louise is asked the question and offered the ring by her long time boyfriend, and Thelma befriends a young and exciting bad boy hitchhiker, having great sex with him. With their emancipation from the conventional bounds of morality the women actualize their deepest dreams and desires. This part of the movie ends at the hotel breakfast, where Louise, after having said goodbyes to her boyfriend, is described by the waiter as almost as hot as to set the room on fire, receives Thelma who glows with satisfaction having been "properly f**ked" for the first time in her life.
However, after a peak experience like this, normal life with a passive aggressive beta husband seems such a bleak choice that for Thelma there is no longer turning back. The decision to continue the life of violence is made at this point, when Thelma decides to emulate the exciting bad boy criminal and rob a store. There is no longer any convenient explanation or justification for the deeds of the women. Their circle of violence and depravity escalates with drunk driving, speeding, an attack against a police officer, and finally blowing up a truck the driver of which made unpleasant sexual gestures towards them. The inevitability of their choice and rejection of ordinary life culminates in the final drive to the canyon.
If one wishes to see Thelma and Louise as a feminist flick, however, it does not give a very good picture of the qualities of women. Thelma and Louise suffer from a total lack of control in their life decisions. Every problem they face in the film is caused by their own mistakes: Too early and unconsidered marriage, excessive drinking and flirting, lack of emotional control in the shooting, inability to assess the situation and report the rape charge to the police, when all the signs of violence and blood are still visible, leaving a considerable amount of money unguarded in a room with a confessed robber, resorting to criminal activities to get money, phoning the police while knowing that the call is being traced etc. So, rather than looking at the movie as a depiction of female victimhood in the hands of an oppressive society, one might look at the movie as a comprehensive critique of modern womanhood which refuses to accept accountability and responsibility and escapes in a dreamworld, finally rejecting all reality even up to the point of driving to a canyon. However, the problem with this outlook is that the main characters are not very pleasant to follow. Their stupid and irresponsible decisions one after another mainly raise furor in the viewer. The best redeeming quality of the film is the scenery, which is absolutely fantastic, but is is not enough to raise the film to the position of a classic which has been attributed to it. Therefore I'm giving it an IMDb score of 6 out of 10.
First of all, Thelma and Louise might have been striking if it had been filmed in 1960's. However, for the modern times, with all expressed consent legislation and no means no laws, the premise that law enforcement would not believe a woman's claim of having been raped is simply not at all believable. The burden of proving innocence lies solely on the man. Nevertheless, this supposed female oppression forms the basic premise of the film. Unfortunately it does not simply work anymore in a legal system dominated by feminism.
Rather than from the point of victimhood, the movie should be in my opinion seen as a feminist fantasy of violence and sexuality. From the point of the shooting onwards the movie tears away from realism. The two deepest wishes of the women are fulfilled: Louise is asked the question and offered the ring by her long time boyfriend, and Thelma befriends a young and exciting bad boy hitchhiker, having great sex with him. With their emancipation from the conventional bounds of morality the women actualize their deepest dreams and desires. This part of the movie ends at the hotel breakfast, where Louise, after having said goodbyes to her boyfriend, is described by the waiter as almost as hot as to set the room on fire, receives Thelma who glows with satisfaction having been "properly f**ked" for the first time in her life.
However, after a peak experience like this, normal life with a passive aggressive beta husband seems such a bleak choice that for Thelma there is no longer turning back. The decision to continue the life of violence is made at this point, when Thelma decides to emulate the exciting bad boy criminal and rob a store. There is no longer any convenient explanation or justification for the deeds of the women. Their circle of violence and depravity escalates with drunk driving, speeding, an attack against a police officer, and finally blowing up a truck the driver of which made unpleasant sexual gestures towards them. The inevitability of their choice and rejection of ordinary life culminates in the final drive to the canyon.
If one wishes to see Thelma and Louise as a feminist flick, however, it does not give a very good picture of the qualities of women. Thelma and Louise suffer from a total lack of control in their life decisions. Every problem they face in the film is caused by their own mistakes: Too early and unconsidered marriage, excessive drinking and flirting, lack of emotional control in the shooting, inability to assess the situation and report the rape charge to the police, when all the signs of violence and blood are still visible, leaving a considerable amount of money unguarded in a room with a confessed robber, resorting to criminal activities to get money, phoning the police while knowing that the call is being traced etc. So, rather than looking at the movie as a depiction of female victimhood in the hands of an oppressive society, one might look at the movie as a comprehensive critique of modern womanhood which refuses to accept accountability and responsibility and escapes in a dreamworld, finally rejecting all reality even up to the point of driving to a canyon. However, the problem with this outlook is that the main characters are not very pleasant to follow. Their stupid and irresponsible decisions one after another mainly raise furor in the viewer. The best redeeming quality of the film is the scenery, which is absolutely fantastic, but is is not enough to raise the film to the position of a classic which has been attributed to it. Therefore I'm giving it an IMDb score of 6 out of 10.