Butch and Sundance

12 Pages 3068 Words

ole a bit uncomfortable in the company of women, and the women seem at first to be a bit stereotypical, Thelma being the pretty, girlish blonde who is dominated by her husband, Louise being the waitress saloon girl, good if worldly wise, but there the resemblance with the classic western ends, for our heroes are not men but women and the setting is a contemporary one where the sheriff uses modern technology such as computers and helicopters in the chase.

Thelma and Louise tells the story of two woman friends who intend to go away for a few days on a fishing trip, Thelma to escape the boredom of her marriage, and Louise to sort out her feelings about her relationship with her boyfriend. After a horrendous, brutal attempted rape at the start of the trip they find themselves on the run facing a possible murder charge. Louise had been the victim of a rape in the past and believed they had no chance of justice if they went to the police. Louise explains to Thelma that she can't go to the police as she shot the rapist after she had stopped him raping Thelma so she can't claim self defence but it is not too late for Louise, but Louise wants to go on. At this point you, too, think that there is some hope of them getting away with it as there were no real witnesses. The film has a classical narrative structure Thelma & Louise * The trip * The attempted rape & subsequent murder * The flight & chase * The death / 'escape' of Thelma & Lou!
ise. But this is taking the narrative at a superficial level for there is a complex study of both male / female and female / female relationships. It explores the dilemma of women who want to have some life of their own making and their struggle within a society with the expectations and restrictions that society places on them. It shows us how events can have a momentum of their own and can get out of control leading inexorably to tragedy. The road becomes a metaphor for life itself.

Although a number of...