To not under why Thelma and Louise is regarded so highly?

[MoominMantra]

Two women go on the run getting themselves into deeper and deeper shit until they finally commit suicide.

I find it really depressing. So what am I missing?

Brad Pitt in ‘Legends of the fall’, ohh yess! Brad in T&L, no.

DDSusan was about 10 years earlier and not really an action movie. T&L came out when I was in 6th form and it was a stunning revelation - crap husbands in a Hollywood movie! Women driving convertibles! Women both being harrased and it being admitted as such. Women leering at men and having sexual desires. And introducing the world to Brad Pitt, with his shirt off.

Lots of 'I'm with Geena' sentiment from women on early social media. I agree it was like the Accused - first time these issues had been presented from a female POV in mainstream film. And still, hardly any followers.

Harvey Keitel.... now we're talking.
God yes. Everyone was wetting themselves over Brad Pitt. I was like "but, but, but... Harvey?! Michael Madsen?!"

It is truly a stunning film. So beautiful.

It's pretty unflinching in the way it portrays the casual misogyny of almost all the men involved - I watched it last night for the first time in years and found it still eye-opening, particularly because all of the shitheads in it were so cheerful about what they were doing.

Performances are great, cinematography is great, soundtrack is great.

Having said that, in the words of Hercule Poirot, I do not approve of murder. I find it all a bit problematic from that point of view.

I have seen The Accused and I found that to be very good.

I do take your points about the portrayal of the women in Thelma & Louise. I just can't get away from the fact that after that awful bad luck they had they ended up having to commit suicide. It just doesn't seem like a happy or an inspired ending

It is a film trope that "troublesome women" always end up dead.

For me it conforms totally to the trope and thus is a massive disappointment.

Way before Thelma and Louise, you had Ellen Ripley - now &she& was badass. Much better movie, too.

Funnily enough, I was recounting T&L for DW (who's not seen it), after reading that Brad Pitt is in the new Tarantino film ... (a bit like Tom Cruise Pitt started off as a pretty boy, but is a good actor).

As I was; I realised it was a lot darker than I recalled and (more shamingly) not as outdated as you'd think for a film over a quarter of a century old

Then I remembered "The Accused" and realised we've not only not come far, but have gone backwards

I loved the whole film but the ending. It didn't spoil it totally because it's absolutely a great film, but I always felt the ending let me down in a way I couldn't explain. They'd been through all of those near-misses, changed the very makeup of who they were as they began to stand up to the men around them and then the only end was death.

I still love it, though. Just wish the ending was different.

it's a great film btw

What @MaudebeGonne said.

It also needs to be thought of for the time it was made. Women as leads and a film that was basically just about women were rare.

Compared to modern films with may not feel as good but for it time it was pretty revolutionary.

Actually, the depiction of Brad Pitt was also unusual at the time - his character was basically the pretty eye candy, the incidental shag who functions only as a plot point (he steals their money). That was the sort of role that was normally for a woman to play.

Great film, ridiculous and disappointing ending.

The point is that, after their 'spree', their moment of calling the shots and living life on their terms, they were faced with a stark choice; 'Do or Die'. Do a life sentence in jail, possible capital punishment, or die by suicide.

A lifetime locked up unable to exercise any personal freedom on any level, being constantly observed for any deviation from deemed acceptable behaviours, micro-controlled by prison guards. In other words, just as, if not more, oppressive than the lives they'd left behind. Another form of death, in a way.

They ended it on their terms, and their terms alone.

I loved the film.

Love that film. So well acted and powerful and I love SS’s character. The soundtrack always brings a tear to my eye.

And Michael Madsen helps

Do all films with women have to be homogenised, empowering epics? We can be strong, we can be fragile, we can be broken. Why does everything have to be seen through one lens? I want to see a good story with interesting characters, not some propaganda-driven social commentary. Let’s not be afraid to tell stories about different people with different minds and unique experiences.

Two big female leads, but yes a depressing ending. The introduction of Brad Pitt to a large audience. It was obvious that he'd be 'going places' with those blue eyes and conventional good looks. Over-rated.

I love this film and yes yes to Harvey and Michael! Susan Sarandon is such a great actress. A classic road movie about female empowerment. I loved Susan Sarandon in Dead Man Walking with Sean Penn. Another great film. T&L is one of the set films on A level film studies along with Pulp Fiction and Trainspotting.

I remember a tampon ad from the time with teen girls calling each other "Thelma" or "Louise" if they did something cool. It really was seen as empowering for those of us in our teens at the time, and there really wasn't much of that about at the time.

Love this movie, and I only saw it for the first time in my 30s. The music during that final scene is just beautiful.

T&L is one of the set films on A level film studies along with Pulp Fiction and Trainspotting.

God I feel old.

I've not seen Thelma and Louise and I guess I never will. I hadn't known they died until a clip of it was shown on a TV programme. Then I decided there wasn't much point in watching it as I knew the ending!!!

Brad Pitt in the 90s.
That is all I need.

I love Thelma and Louise. I understand that the suicide at the end is the controlling their own destiny. Not all of the men were dicks; Harvey Kietel wasn’t, nor was Jimmy