Geena Davis as Thelma Dickenson in THELMA & LOUISE

GEENA DAVIS

GEENA DAVIS as Thelma Dickenson in THELMA & LOUISE

I got the sense in ACCIDENTAL TOURIST that she was almost there…Still some of her lines felt dry around the edges and monotone. Her heart wasn’t completely in it yet, she wasn’t quiet 'fully' arrived. In THELMA & LOUISE she seemed to have blossomed fully into a seasoned actor. In the beginning, her the playing make-up and slight airs work with the character, but as the film progressed and the character started to peel away the unnecessary. I felt that Geena Davis was shredding her preconceived notions about acting as well. She became the actress I had been waiting for and wanted her to be in “Bettlejuice” , “The Fly” and “Accidental Tourist. It was beyond perfect casting and she just erupted in the role of Thelma. She was a revelation. Like being a witness to something truly happening it front of our eyes. At the beginning, a sensitive and fragile Thelma is next to a energetic and realistic Louise but in the second part of the movie, more precisely, after Thelma burglarized a shop (probably the best loved sequence in the whole movie) in order to grab money, roles are reversed. Even though it’s seen through surveillance footage – we can see her rob that little store – It’s a genius moment – (great writing) played to the hilt by Geena Davis. Her body language and movements are comedic classic signature lighting in a bottle.

Director Ridley Scott selected his performers wisely. Not only do Davis and Sarandon deliver two of the screen’s best female performances of all time, he has also surrounded them with a capable lot of seasoned professionals who bring colour to even the most stereotypical of characters. Scott moulded the cast into one cohesive ensemble while adroitly bringing the story together to a conclusion that is expected but still leaves you hoping for a different outcome.

THELMA & LOUISE is one of the best examples of the use of character-driven plot to visit the cineplex in many years. We don’t expect bombast and sensationalism to prop the film up. Instead, we desire to learn more about the fascinating and independent Thelma and Louise. We easily identify and empathize with these persecuted women whose only desires are to get away from that which haunted them and have a little bit of fun.

Thelma takes the big journey in the film from pampered innocence / unknowing scared housewife to tough gun totting talented and fearless grocery story robber and beloved best friend and it’s her idea to “Keep going”. Not even "Romeo and Juliet" got to go together – at the same time. Call me a romantic but I get goose bumps every time I even think about that moment, that brilliant ending, but like Roger Ebert wanted the camera to hold on that ‘freeze frame another 10 seconds’ – then fade to white. It could have made a brilliant classic film – sheer film nirvana.

My favorite Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon moment was in the empty New Mexico dessert at dawn. The sky is all dark purple and Sarandon is just standing alone listening to the early morning and soaking in the quiet. It’s peaceful. She just wanted to stop time for a second. Geena comes up carefully, not wanting into startle Louise. She knows she’s behind her – she can feel it. It a tender / loving moment. They are in this mystical/magical existential dream together – like they are walking on a cloud. It feels surreal. How did we get here? They don’t need any dialogue. There’s just a knowing togetherness that is deeper than lovers or in most best friends. These women are connected, deeply . We see it – we can feel it. Beyond acting. Another scene that I heard was almost cut.

Geena Davis went the furthest distance an actor can go in a film. And her few films after Thelma and Louise – she seems to have made the break-through here. She’s been terrific ever since.