Thelma & Louise
Thelma & Louise is a 1991 American crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. The film stars Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as Louise and Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unforeseen circumstances. The supporting cast includes Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, and Brad Pitt (in one of his first major roles). Filming took place in California and Utah from June to August 1990.
Thelma & Louise
- Ridley Scott
- Mimi Polk Gitlin
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Pathé Entertainment
- Percy Main Productions
- Star Partners III Ltd.
MGM-Pathé Communications
- May 20, 1991 (Cannes)
- May 24, 1991 (United States)
129 minutes
United States[1]
English
$16.5 million[2]
$45.4 million[2]
Following its premiere at the 44th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 1991, Thelma & Louise was theatrically released in the United States on May 24. It became a critical and commercial success, receiving six nominations at the 64th Academy Awards, with Khouri winning Best Original Screenplay. Scott was nominated for Best Director, and both Sarandon and Davis were nominated for Best Actress.
Thelma & Louise has influenced other artistic works, and became a landmark of feminist film. In 2006, the American Film Institute ranked it 78th on its list of most inspiring films. In 2016, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot[edit]
Two friends, Thelma Dickinson and Louise Sawyer, set out for a weekend vacation at a fishing cabin in the mountains to take a break from their dreary lives in Arkansas. Thelma, a housewife, is married to disrespectful and controlling carpet salesman Darryl, while sharp-tongued Louise works as a waitress in a diner and is dating easygoing musician Jimmy, who is on the road most of the time.
On the way, they stop at a roadhouse bar, where Thelma dances with a flirtatious stranger, Harlan Puckett. He takes her to the parking lot and tries to rape her until Louise intervenes and threatens to shoot him. As the women walk away, Harlan yells he should've continued the rape, causing Louise to fatally shoot him in a fit of rage. The two women immediately drive off.
At a motel they discuss how to handle the situation. Thelma wants to go to the police, but Louise fears that no one will believe a claim of attempted rape as Thelma was drinking and dancing with Harlan, in addition to having no evidence of the rape; they would be facing a murder charge. They decide to flee to Mexico, but Louise demands they travel there without going through Texas, as something happened to her there several years earlier which she refuses to reveal.
Heading west, they come across an attractive young drifter, J.D., to whom Thelma takes a liking. Louise contacts Jimmy, asking him to wire her life savings to her. He surprises her by delivering the money in person, and they spend the night together. Jimmy proposes to Louise, but she refuses. At a motel, J.D. talks his way into Thelma's room and they sleep together. She learns he is a convicted armed-robber who has violated the terms of his parole. The following morning, the women discover J.D. has stolen Louise's savings and fled. Louise is distraught, so a guilty 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 tap into the phone line at Darryl's house. He 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 and tells her he knows what happened to her in Texas, but is unsuccessful in persuading her to surrender.
Thelma tells Louise she will not go back to Darryl and asks her friend if she intends to cut a deal with police so she can return to Jimmy. Louise rejects the notion of betraying her friend and promises Thelma they will keep going together. While back on the road, Thelma recalls the incident with Harlan and tries to ask Louise if something similar happened to her in Texas. Louise responds angrily and tells Thelma to never bring it up again.
Later, they 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 repeatedly makes 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 women leave him stranded in the desert with the wreckage.
Thelma and Louise are finally cornered by the authorities only a hundred 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 to their certain deaths.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
The idea for Thelma & Louise originated in the spring of 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 was noted to have drawn inspiration from her own experience as well as her friendship with country music singer Pam Tillis.[3] 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 English filmmaker Julien Temple).[3]
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 in turn showed the script to Scott, who expressed great enthusiasm for the project. 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.[3]
Scott considered four people for the role of director, all of whom turned down the opportunity. Per Gitlin's recollection, 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.[3]
Casting[edit]
Michelle Pfeiffer and Jodie Foster were originally chosen for the leads; both accepted their roles with enthusiasm. As pre-production of the film dragged on, the two eventually dropped out, with Pfeiffer going on to star in Love Field and Foster in The Silence of the Lambs. Pfeiffer would later admit that passing on the film still kills her.[4] Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn then offered to play the leads, but Streep later dropped out due to scheduling conflicts while Hawn was not considered right for the part (Hawn and Streep portrayed the lead duo a year later in Death Becomes Her). Geena Davis (who had been vigorously 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.[3]
Scott personally 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 won the role of Jimmy, Louise's boyfriend. Brad Pitt auditioned for the hustler J.D.; however Scott thought he was "too young" for the role so they moved on, the part went to Billy Baldwin. Pitt eventually secured the role after both Baldwin and his replacement dropped out.[3][5] George Clooney,[6] Robert Downey Jr.,[7] Mark Ruffalo,[5] Grant Show,[7] John Mellencamp,[8] Dylan McDermott,[5] James LeGros,[5] and Dermot Mulroney[5] were also considered for the role of J.D. Davis did test scenes with Clooney, Show, Ruffalo and Pitt; her advice to the directors was to choose Pitt.[9]
Filming[edit]
Principal photography for Thelma & Louise began on June 11, 1990, and concluded on August 31, 1990.[1] Although the setting for the film is a fictional route between Arkansas and the Grand Canyon, it was filmed almost entirely in the states of 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.[10] 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.[11] Of filming his love scenes with Davis, Pitt said that it was awkward being nearly naked with everybody standing.[5]
Soundtrack[edit]
Pete Haycock on slide guitar contributed to Thunderbird, the theme music for the film.[12] 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 & Will Jennings), Michael McDonald ("No Lookin' Back"), The Temptations ("The Way You Do the Things You Do" written by Smokey Robinson & Bobby Rogers), and Johnny Nash ("I Can See Clearly Now").[13][14]
Release[edit]
Thelma & Louise was screened out of competition as the closing film at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.[15] Theatrical release was delayed due to financial turmoil at MGM-Pathé.[16] The film eventually opened in American theaters on May 24, 1991[1] and was a box office success, grossing $45 million within the country.[17] It proved especially successful in the home video market; with 380 000 VHS rental copies being shipped throughout the United States,[18] it became the most rented movie of 1992.[19]
In February 2023, The Criterion Collection announced the film would be joining the collection in May that year.[20]
Stage adaptation[edit]
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.[71] In January 2023, a workshop reading was held starring Amanda Seyfried and Evan Rachel Wood.[72]