Welcome to Day 2 of Girl Week 2020.
A couple years ago I put Thelma & Louise on my annual Blind Spot list meaning I was finally going to watch it after all this time. Then I didn't. We cinephiles always feel a little shame about movies we haven't seen that everyone else seems to have watched. I have a bit extra when it comes to this film. I've owned a copy of this for at least three or four years. At any time, I could've taken a few steps, pulled it off the shelf, and watched it. I just didn't. Like most of you, I found myself at home a lot more than usual for large chunks of time. Thanks, pandemic. Since my kids are grown and Mrs. Dell was still working outside the home I had no one to entertain but me. That meant lots of days watching movies. On one of those days it dawned on me that I still hadn't seen Thelma & Louise, so I took a few steps, pulled it off the shelf and watched it.
Right off the bat, I was surprised. This had nothing to do with actual content, just who was playing who. Geena Davis plays Thelma and Susan Sarandon plays Louise. Somehow, I got it in my head that it was the other way around. It mostly has to do with Sarandon. Maybe because I've seen Sarandon in more down to Earth roles, but she struck me as more fitting of a Thelma. It's neither here, nor there, just thought I'd share. Anyhoo, the actual Thelma, Davis is dealing with Darryl (McDonald), her borderline psycho husband. Louise is kinda sorta dating laid back musician Jimmy (Madsen). They decide they need to unwind and decide to take a girl's trip for a weekend of fishing. On the way to their destination, they stop at a bar for a little drinkin' and dancin'. One thing leads to another and the girls find themselves on the run after committing a murder.
What makes this movie go is the chemistry between its two leads. From the very first frame, Thelma and Louise feel like they've been best friends forever. It's easy to take this for granted because the story is built around that very fact. It's one thing for the story to just tell us this. Lots of stories do this. Good ones show us things that develop the relationship or help establish the idea that they're lifelong buddies. However, it takes a special connection to make either approach unnecessary. Sure, it uses those techniques, but it doesn't really have to. Davis and Sarandon make us feel their bond instantaneously. This bonds them to us as viewers. Our emotional connection to them keeps us engaged.
The performances of Davis and Sarandon are equally dynamic. The two ladies use them, along with excellent writing, to pull off one of the damndest tricks I've ever seen. They gradually switch roles throughout the course of the film. I don't mean in a Freaky Friday, body switch type of way. At the beginning of the film Thelma is the more buttoned up of the two, only loosening up with a drink in her hand. Louise is the free spirit constantly urging Thelma to open up. As things progress, the two practically swap personalities, and it never feels forced. We may not even notice it happening until the change is complete. The film never calls attention to it. It just does it, and we believe it. This, along with all the two go through together, make the movie's iconic ending work. We're in it with them, and wouldn't have it any other way.
Other performances also aid in our enjoyment. The one people routinely point to is the full-on "himbo" turn by a relatively unknown Brad Pitt. He is definitely good. His skill as an actor come second to his pure, undeniable magnetism. I get it. Sex sells. It's what has kept people talking about Pitt's turn nearly thirty years after the film's release. However, the man candy who delivered the better performance and appeared in the more compelling scenes is actually Michael Madsen. While Pitt's scenes are predicated on a superficial sexiness, there is a smoldering between Madsen and Sarandon that adds extra sizzle.
Whether you side with Pitt or Madsen as the greater distraction for our heroines matters not. What matters is that the writing never loses focus on the physical and emotional journeys of Thelma and Louise. It continuously draws us in, makes us fall in love with them as individuals, and fall in love with their friendship. Everything else is a delicious extra.
Check out yesterday's entries in Girl Week 2020.
