THELMA & LOUISE: 4K Blu-ray (MGM/Pathé/Percy Main/Star Partners III, 1991) Criterion

 As a passive movie goer, I was never able to wrap my head around all those post-modern feminist film critiques to celebrate Ridley Scott's Thelma & Louise (1991) as a life-affirming/woman-identifying triumph of the female spirit. As someone who has since made it a part-time profession to write about the movies, I still have my doubts on this score. For one, Callie Khouri's screenplay regales us with the tale of two tragically flawed women in crisis. Louise Elizabeth Sawyer (Susan Sarandon) is a closeted and traumatized victim of rape who allows her pent-up rage to explode at a most inopportune moment and commit the act of murder. On the flip side, we have Thelma Yvonne Dickinson (Geena Davis), a put-upon frump who, given half the chance and an ounce of encouragement, transgresses into clueless - if playful – nymphomania, with outrageously bad taste in male suitors. Together, they are martyred, electing to drive themselves off a cliff in Arizona rather than submit to the ever-looming conglomeration of men – lumped together as the patriarchy – guys who would see them tried, convicted and punished, not – as feminist scholarship would infer – for just being women, but for their crimes – theft, robbery, malicious destruction of property and murder - these seemingly indefensible acts made justifiable by choosing their destiny in suicide.

FYI for those in the ‘Me Too’ movement who think it is about time men in general received their ‘just deserts’. Louise did kill a man – and not in self-defense, but from an inbred venom triggered by this ill-fated clod and grotesque pig of a human being, the stand-in, but also the scapegoat for what others of his sex had done to her.  So, touting Thelma & Louise as nothing short of a break with tradition is a bit much. The film's buddy/buddy chemistry, usually ascribed male action heroes gets grafted onto these 'assertive' gal pals instead. Does it work? You bet. Scott’s fantasy road trip come nihilistic nightmare is a largely rewarding piece of escapist adventurism with intermittent comedic respites as Thelma attempts to find love – or perhaps, just great sex – with a shiftless grifter and con artist, played with irrepressible shirtless charm by a mint-condition Brad Pitt, then, just getting his toe-hold in the movie biz.  Along the way, the women butch up and come to terms with what they have done. A few tears/beers later, and it’s time to chuck it all off a mesa in Arizona. So much for woman-identifying heroism in the nineties.

Removed from all its propagandized ‘roaring’ femininity hype, Thelma & Louise remains far more rewarding than the standardized chick flick of its generation. Adrian Biddle's cinematography is a winner. His stark and memorable compositions give a sort of postmodern, rugged inelegance, even seediness that greatly augments the story. Director Scott makes the most of Khouri's screenplay, as our proto-feminists segue from an almost Capra-esque road trip into Warner’s Public Enemy territory with a moral dilemma on their hands.  While the screenplay’s globular depiction of the male characters leaves much to be desired - frankly, there is not one among them who is not cut from the knuckle-dragging Neanderthal/idiot loin cloth - the ladies who turn vigilante are never anything less than riveting on the screen. Henceforth, in this ‘us’ (women) vs. ‘them’ (boys playing at being men), the real joy to be had is in Sarandon and Davis’ rebellious Abbott and Costello routine. From this vantage, Thelma & Louise is undeniably a great entertainment - just not for the ‘virtues’ readily ascribed it.

We begin in earnest with Louise, a sassy single and waitress toiling at an Arkansas’ truck-stop greasy spoon, telephoning her best friend, Thelma on a break and instructing her to be ready for their weekend retreat. It is going to be a strictly ‘girl’s night out’ and to hell with what the boys have to say or think. Thelma’s husband, the ever-bumbling Darryl (Christopher McDonald) is a possessive oaf, aspiring to maintain his polyester-clad/gold-chained relic of a stud, cast out from some forgotten seventies’ discotheque. Owing to his volatile personality, Thelma waits to start her packing until after Darryl has left for the day. Better to face the wrath at the end then try to escape it at the outset. As is in keeping with her no-nonsense outlook on life – Louise arrives on time. Thelma is, of course, still unprepared. Nevertheless, the two make for the open road in Louise's 1966 Thunderbird convertible. However, what starts out as an orchestrated plan for a relaxed fishing trip, quickly degenerates into a nightmarish saga that spins wildly out of control with one bad decision: a pit stop at The Silver Bullet - a boot-scoot bar and dance hall, catering to some rough trade.

Given her first taste of freedom, Thelma meets Harlan Puckett (Timothy Carhart) - a player whose modus operandi is to get his women drunk so he can take advantage of them in the parking lot. But the plan backfires as Louise intervenes in Thelma’s potential rape at the point of a gun, informing Harlan that when a woman is barely conscious and crying "she isn't having any fun!" At this juncture, Thelma and Louise could have simply walked away, taken the high road and left Harlan with his unsatisfied stiffy to pursue some other naïve young Miss awaiting his misguided attentions inside the honky-tonk. Instead, Harlan's absolute lack of acknowledgement he has done anything wrong pushes Louise over the edge. After a brief exchange of profanities, she ruthlessly pulls the trigger, killing him in cold blood. In a moment’s panic, Louise justifies her actions and their subsequent escape into the night as an act of self-defense. What it really is, is a public execution of a guy whose morals were as loose as his testicles. But you do not murder a man for that…or do you?  Louise negotiates a new plan for the weekend…actually, for the rest of their lives.  It is time to say goodbye to what they both once knew. There is no going back. After all, there wasn’t much point to either of these dead-end existences. So, it’s off to Mexico. Even though the quickest route would be through Texas, Louise opts to drive through Arizona instead. Later, we discover Louise was brutally attacked in Texas ten-years ago, leaving her emotionally shell-shocked.

In the meantime, Police Det. Hal Slocumb (Harvey Keitel) arrives on the scene. He is informed by one of the Silver Bullet waitresses that two women were seen leaving the bar with Harlan shortly before his demise. This sets the wheels of Slocumb’s investigation into motion. He eventually identifies Thelma as one of his ‘persons of interest’ and sets up a communication outpost at Darryl's home - much to Darryl’s chagrin and confusion.  Hiding out at a seedy motel along the highway, the brevity of Louise's split-second reaction begins to sink in. Not only are they fugitives from justice, but combined, neither has nearly enough money to sustain their trek across the southwest. Relying on her own boyfriend, Jimmy Lennox (Michael Madsen), Louise asks him to withdraw her entire life savings and wire it via Western Union. Meanwhile, boy-crazy Thelma pleads with Louise to pick up J.D. (Brad Pitt) - a rogue hitchhiker with a playful penchant for seduction. J.D. is a profession con artist, a trait Louise sees right through but Thelma never picks up on.  Unfortunately for both ladies, Thelma has developed a cougar-ish attraction. Arriving at the motel where Louise is supposed to pick up her wire transfer, she instead discovers Jimmy, in person, with the money. Unable to completely trust him, Louise instead leaves Jimmy on the hook with a myriad of unanswered questions about the future.

Knowing her friend as she does, Louise rather idiotically places the whole of their bankroll in Thelma's care while she and Jimmy go off to talk. An errant rainstorm provides J.D. with the flimsiest of excuses to invite himself up to their room. Thelma lets J.D. in. The two share a lustful detente whereupon J.D. reveals how he has grifted through life by holding up gas stations and liquor stores. This revelation does not seem to unnerve Thelma. I mean, let’s be real. J.D. merely points a gun threateningly. Louise actually used it to cut a guy down in his prime. So, who is the greater threat? The following morning as Thelma meets Louise for coffee in the motel's restaurant, J.D. makes off with the last of their life lines, sending Louise over the edge into a bitter/brittle nervous breakdown. Inspired by Louise, Thelma takes matters into her own hands, using the stick-up approach, taught to her by J.D. the night before, to rob an out of the way convenience store. Incriminated on the store's surveillance camera, Slocumb and the FBI close in on J.D. and Jimmy, piecing the events told to them by each man, and connecting the dots as to where Thelma and Louise are presently headed.

Slocumb unravels the key to Louise's Texas rape and becomes genuinely empathetic. Alas, not even he can get through to Louise or convince this duo to turn themselves in to the law. During the final length of their journey, Thelma and Louise encounter an over-the-hill trucker (Marco St. John) hauling a tanker full of petrol. He makes obscene gestures. So, they decide to teach him a lesson he will never forget, pulling over at a remote and abandoned truck stop, presumably to satisfy his needs. Believing he is about to have at least one of his sexual fantasies fulfilled, the trucker learns too late his fate, as the gals shoot up his tires and then the semi, causing a titanic explosion. This attracts an Arizona State Trooper (Jason Beghe). By now, Thelma and Louise have transgressed from fringe criminals to crusading vigilantes. After pulling the women over, the trooper takes Louise's license to input into the system. He is thwarted by Thelma, who aims a gun at his head, forcing the trooper into the trunk of his patrol car. Louise shoots out the radio and the tires. Now, the pair makes haste toward the Grand Canyon's Dead Horse Point near the Colorado River. Regrettably, Louise discovers they are perched high atop its dangerous precipice with no Plan B for escape. Time and the FBI have caught up to them. Det. Slocumb begs the FBI's indulgence to negotiate with Louise for their surrender. But Thelma, who has exhibited the unlikeliest conversion, from put-upon naïve to tough girl with an attitude, tells Louise to keep going. Our story concludes in a cloud of dust as Louise drives their Thunderbird convertible over the edge of Dead Horse Point to their certain death.

Originally, Ridley Scott envisioned a rather drawn-out standoff between the women and the FBI, culminating in a majestic slo-mo helicopter tracking shot to follow the Thunderbird over the cliff, through its bird-like plummet onto its inevitable demise. The theatrical cut remained a tad more optimistic, with the airborne Thunderbird sailing upwards and over the craggy edge, the screen fading to white, followed by a montage of select moments from the more optimistic moments of the road-trip. This editing decision met with grumblings from the New York critics who felt its abrupt denouement did not live up to the 128-min. build-up preceding it. Retrospectively, this still holds true. After having invested much in the welfare of our protagonists, we are suddenly expected to bid them a hasty, and very unconventional farewell. Feminist scholarship has since reimagined this finale as a nose-thumbing triumph against the patriarchy. Director, Scott has argued that the fade to white before the car plunges into the canyon ends the story on a ‘high note’ as renegade angels forever caught in mid-flight.

Casting Thelma and Louise was something of dilemma for Scott. Major stars of the day, to include Annie Potts, Holly Hunter, Michelle Pfeiffer, Frances McDormand, Sela Ward, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Meg Ryan all turned down the role of Louise who - in the script - was described as a younger woman. Even after Scott and Khouri concurred the character should be played by a more established star, pitching it to heavy hitters like Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, Sigourney Weaver, Sissy Spacek, Angelica Huston - and even Tina Turner - proved fruitless. Today, it is hard, if not impossible, to imagine any of the aforementioned delivering a more finely wrought performance. The emotional depth Susan Sarandon brings to Louise, levels a rock-steady savvy as the perfect counterpart to Geena Davis' multi-layered, and ultimately, flashier turn as the flighty Thelma. The male counterparts in Thelma & Louise lumber about and lack, not only finesse, but the collective brain power to operate a child’s windmill. The best of lot is, arguably, Harvey Keitel and, to a lesser degree, Michael Madsen. Neither actor, fine as he is, rises above the rather cardboard cutout material they have been afforded. But at least each avoids becoming a caricatured 'butch male' nuisance. The same cannot be said for Christopher McDonald or Brad Pitt. The former is a total buffoon; the latter, mere, if appealing eye candy. Nevertheless, Pitt's cameo somehow became a springboard for launching him into a major career.

While the picture still has its followers, Thelma & Louise should never be considered high art championing women’s liberation.  Scott’s film-maker’s prowess lends it to some stylish visuals. But its feminist scholarship, to imply trailblazing relevancy for women of all ages is misguided. At best, Thelma & Louise is an interesting revenge/tragedy, albeit one with a very flawed methodology. After all, the gals here are not railing against the patriarchy – only selected individuals operating within it. Their cause is not devoted to female liberation from systemic male oppression which, after all, does not, and never has existed. They are just pissed off at some guys who show a decided lack of tact and overall disregard for ‘the fairer sex’. Consider, there is no vengeance against, or even any indication of it towards J.D. for absconding with their mad money– presumably, because the unseen sex between J.D. and Thelma was just that good. And Louise’s self-reliance needs a badly needed boost from the ever-devoted Jimmy. So, no matter what happened to Louise in Texas she has since found forgiveness, not only for herself, but towards men, at least one in particular, and, just enough to allow him to occupy a special place in her heart. The ending of Thelma & Louise is a defiant stance against authority – not men, although men are in-charge of the law in these parts. As such, the pic is hardly conclusive as a female-identifying cause célèbre.

Criterion has deemed Thelma & Louise as culturally significant and furnished us with a new 4K/Blu-ray combo release that has been director-approved by Ridley Scott.  The 4K was, in fact, supervised by Scott, but features the same 5.1 DTS audio to have accompanied all previous home video releases. No 7.1 uptick. Dolby Vision HDR in native 4K reveals an infinitely more refined color palette. Contrast is also subtly darker than before. Fine details pop with marked clarity. This is a grain-rich visual presentation, with grain coming to the forefront but looking very indigenous to its source. There is some minor black crush during the few night sequences, though nothing to distract. Apart from two audio commentaries, featuring Scott, screenwriter Callie Khouri, and Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, again – recorded decades ago and merely regurgitated herein - virtually all the other extra content is housed on a separate Blu-ray. There is also another Blu-ray containing the same 4K remastering effort, albeit, dumbed down to 1080p. The extras on the second Blu-ray include new interviews conducted by Criterion with Ridley Scott and Callie Khouri. There is also a ‘documentary’ on the making of the movie to feature cast and crew, and, Boy and Bicycle (1965), Ridley Scott’s first short subject. Criterion rounds out the extras with Glenn Frey’s ‘Part of Me, Part of You’ music video, original featurettes made at the time of the theatrical release, plus storyboards and several deleted/extended scenes with Scott providing commentary. Last, but not least, we get printed essays from critics, Jessica Kiang and Rachel Syme, and, journalist, Rebecca Traister. Bottom line: while Thelma & Louise has good, solid performances, it is still an uneven movie. Time has not been able to smooth over these creative edges. And, deprived of all the feminist hype that once surrounded it, it now plays far more like a time capsule than a timeless piece of cinema. In 4K, it looks resplendent, showing off Adrian Biddle’s cinematography to its best effect. For fans, the 4K is definitely the way to go. Judge and buy accordingly.

FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)

3.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

4K – 5+

Blu-ray - 4.5

EXTRAS

3