1991
Directed by Ridley Scott
I will try not to get to cranky as I talk about this film, which I think a lot of people dismiss as a "chick flick." Of course, if two males starred in it, it would be treated with a bit more respect. After all, it deals with serious themes that aren't simply "women's topics." Okay, wait, I am already getting annoyed.
Thelma Dickinson and Louise Sawyer decide to go on vacation together to escape their bleak existences. Thelma is married to a control freak while Louise works a miserable job as a waitress. They stop for a drink and Thelma dances with a creepy guy who then tries to rape her in the parking lot. Louise shoots him and saves Thelma, but doesn't want to turn herself in, as she doesn't think the police will believe the two of them that he tried to attack Thelma. Probably accurate. The two then go on the run, kicking ass along the way.
My crush on Susan Sarandon really intensified after watching this film. These characters are fascinating, particularly Louise. After a lifetime of oppression and persecution, the women finally snap. Unlike in A Question of Silence, the females are actually sane. I supported the women for the entire duration of the film; in fact, I almost felt like they had no choice (especially when Brad Pitt came into the scene; you just have to sleep with him if you get the opportunity). At the very least, I felt like they pursued their best options.
A beautiful bond is on display here, as are two beautiful women. This is an important film to watch, especially in the context of this List, which isn't exactly brimming with female representation.
RATING: ****-
Interesting Facts:
George Clooney auditioned for the role of J.D. five times.
I wanted to like this movie. I truly did. The idea of a strong female friendship, escape, freedom--these are all themes I love--I just could not relate to what they chose to do at the end. Could not connect with that decision at all so it left me a wee bit dissatisfied.
ReplyDeleteHow would you have liked it to end?
DeleteI know how I would like it to end: taking some some margaritas in a Mexican beach.
ReplyDeleteI cried a lot with the endding but I think that the point there is that - whether you agree or not with it - it's her decision and that's the only thing they can't take from them. I mean if they had caught them; it would have been the chair or a life sentence. And in any case it would have meant that their lives would have been again dictated by men. They choose freedom.
Heck, if this kind of acts is understood as brave in the case of men - see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or Braveheart -; why would it be seen as stupid when two women do it?