Thelma & Louise Blu-ray Review

• 3rd Feb 2012

Ridley Scott opened the 90s with this impactful tale of two women bucking the trends, hitting the road and having to fight against male oppression along the way. Yes, it’s a road movie and one shot expertly by Scott working at the top of his game. In fact this could well be as close to his sibling (Tony) as he may ever get.

Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) head off for a gals only trip, but run into trouble when the former flirts a little too much with a redneck in a bar which ends with said “hick” being gunned down by Louise when he attempts to beat and rape her friend.

The two end up on the run breaking various laws and not taking any more crap from “the man.” Along the way they encounter loves and loses as both are forced to confront their own lives and their pasts for the sake of expressing a bit of freedom and validation in life.

This is a classic film that has aged very well over the past two decades and remains relevant today.

Thelma & Louise is a common work used in feminist studies. Its subtext though is perhaps questionable. Every nail is hit squarely on the head from the pretty boys they chase, to the abusive husbands, lorry driving hound dogs and car park rapists. After a while you begin to realise that men (for a change) have been given the shallow parts to play in the woman’s world. The only truly sympathetic male character is Keitel’s copper on their tail. Beyond that you have every bad cliché in the book which doesn’t lend itself to the films cause. It’s hard to sympathise when many of the same errors are being conducted upon the men that you would normally find in a film where the roles are reversed.

But that’s for the academics to worry about and argue over. As a feature on its own merits it’s a well portrayed and beautifully shot film that leaves you, like Thelma & Louise, high in the sky.

The extras carry over everything from the previous special edition. Scott delivers a very informative commentary as ever; but it’s also worth listening to the one by the two leads and the screenwriter.  Also not to be missed is the long retrospective documentary which has just about everyone popping in for a say about the role they got to play in the film’s production. This is the edition to have. It’s better sound and visual quality and it doesn’t skimp on the bonus material.

Steven Hurst