I loved Thelma & Louise! I never expected anything that was going to happen throughout the movie. It really was different to see two women playing the lead roles without men but it was great. I liked their attitude toward the end of just being free.
From reading the reviews I learned that movies like this are hard to find. I guess I just never really thought about the fact that rarely do any films have females only playing the leading roles. From the beginning to the end there is a complete change in Thelma and Louise. In the beginning Thelma is a housewife with a controlling, rude husband and gives off the feeling of being "trapped" She doesn't ever get a chance to do the things she wants and her husband really does not care. Louise on the other hand is a little bit more free. She is not married and she works. But I also got a vibe that she was "trapped", not by a man but by a job that she did not so much enjoy. Looking at a picture from the beginning of the movie we see that their hair is done and they look nice but by the end it is messier and they look tough and rugged. This adds to the free feeling that we get from them.
I thought that the lighting was very natural. A big part of the movie was filmed outside and the contrast of the daytime and nighttime seemed really realistic. I felt like I did not notice the lighting too much because it was like real life and did not stand out a lot. Another example of the realistic lighting was when they were at the bar. It was dimly lit like bars typically are. The scenery in this film was amazing and beautiful. It really pulled me into the movie and I could imagine myself driving on those roads through the west. A scene that I really liked was when Thelma and Louise "torture" the truck driver for his inappropriate behavior. This was a great example of just how great these women played roles that are typical to men. I attached a picture to demonstrate. Louise is wearing a white tank top and Thelma is wearing a button up jean shirt. If it were men playing these roles they might be wearing a white wife beater and the other a button up jean shirt. They look tough, Thelma is holding a gun, their hair is messy, and they look sexy. I just thought it really showed the reverse roles that we don't often see in movies. The choice of costume was very wise in my opinion.
Cinematography in this film was also great. There were so many good camera angles and shots. Close ups of Thelma and Louis in the car really showed how they were becoming very close and that they had a wonderful friendship. This was also seen with Thelma and J.D. They appeared to connect very well and even though he was on probation for robbery, I didn't think he would steal from her because of the deep connection between them that was portrayed. I also liked the one shot where Thelma looks in the cars side mirror and you can see what they are driving toward but at the same time see her view of what they're leaving in the mirror. At the end there is a close up of their hands joining together as they drive over the canyon. Also right before that we see them being chases in slow motion giving us the idea that something significant is about to happen.
There was also a lot of good editing. The most notable was the parallel editing of Thelma and Louise while they were packing to go on their trip. They are at two completely different locations and doing the same thing but each has their own way of doing it. I think this helped us to know more about the characters styles. Thelma is messy and throws everything in and Louise is very neat and organized and carefully places everything into her suitcase. Thelma is insecure and Louise is confident. Another edit I liked was the ending scene. Thelma and Louise drive off the canyon and the screen edits to white. We are not left with the image of death but an image of freeness like flying.
Thelma and Louise were not feminists and started off simply wanting to have a weekend of fun. In the end they showed that they were capable of doing the things that men can do. There was a lot of emphasis in this movie on how women can be treated very poorly. They were portrayed almost as if they existed for sex appeal but Thelma and Louise do a very good job at teaching some of these men that that's wrong and give them punishment for their disgusting behavior. At the beginning we see sweet, insecure Thelma, but in the end they both appear to be very confident and Thelma is the one who encourages Louise that they should just "keep going".
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