Cinema
Thelma & Louise
Ridley Scott · 1991
Synopsis
In Arkansas, Louise, a waitress, and her friend Thelma, a housewife married to a man who despises her, set off for a weekend at a mountain fishing cabin in Louise's Thunderbird convertible. Thelma, who did not dare ask permission, leaves her husband a note and takes his revolver. They stop at a roadside bar; Thelma dances with a regular who leads her out to the parking lot and tries to rape her. Louise holds him at gunpoint, then shoots him after an insult. Convinced that no one will believe them, she refuses to go to the police and takes the road to Mexico.
Context
It is the first screenplay by Callie Khouri, then a music-video producer, who wanted to direct it herself on a small independent budget and found no one to back it. The producer Mimi Polk Gitlin passed it to Ridley Scott, at first for production; he looked for a director, was turned down several times and took on the film himself, Michelle Pfeiffer having helped to persuade him. The budget reached sixteen and a half million dollars, the shoot took place in California and Utah, and Khouri remained present during production.
Who it is for
A film of two hours nine minutes, in which a brief scene of attempted rape sets off the whole story.
Prizes and reception
Oscar for best original screenplay for Callie Khouri, from six nominations including direction, and a critical debate: some judged it hostile to men.
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