“Thelma & Louise” (1991) is a perfect example of a great direction making the most of an already brilliant script

"Thelma & Louise" is probably one of the movies I’ve seen the most and yet it never ceases to amaze me. On my latest rewatch, I got the feeling that the main reason this film became such a classic is because it has not only an amazing script, but a direction that understands everything that’s great about the story and is also able to take it further on its own merits.

Callie Khouri’s screenplay hits all the right notes when it comes to portraying the friendship of two very different women (Louise being hardened by her traumatic past and emotionally distant, Thelma sheltered by an – awful – domestic life and inexperienced in the world) who find their freedom in unexpected ways. Each of them have their own arc. They don’t always see eye to eye, but their loyalty to each other and what they discover along the way leads them to develop and mature as individuals. Essentially, the script is about the journey (literal and metaphorical) of these two very realized characters finding their own path and their true selves.

Then there’s Ridley Scott’s direction, taking this intimate story into another level. He never loses sight of the script's core (the bond between the characters and their personal growth), but there’s something about his directorial choices that turn “Thelma & Louise” into an American epic. I kept noticing how he frames the landscapes, the desert and even the Grand Canyon (acting as the location for that iconic final scene). He even pauses in crucial moments to show the women contemplating the scenery or crossing paths with ordinary people, and by doing so he turns this into a movie about a whole country (or parts of a country, at least).

That’s important because, in the script, there's a lot to be read between the lines about how women are failed by society (even in drastic circumstances such as being discredited in the face of sexual assault). They see no opportunities in the country/society they’re leaving behind - on some level, the movie is an inversion of the American dream, since crossing the border to Mexico is their ideal of salvation and their vague hope of finding a better life. The epicness of the direction makes that message clear without turning "Thelma & Louise" into a "message movie", because even though the scale is grand, the intimacy on the character's portrayal is never lost or relegated to the background.

What does everybody think?

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