Thelma and Louise

Released:  May 24^th, 1991

Rated:  R

Studio:  MGM

Starring:  Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Brad Pitt

Directed by:  Ridley Scott

Written by:  Callie Khouri

Personal Bias Alert:  was familiar with the ending, generally enjoys Ridley Scott’s movies

7.5 of 10

            Boy did this film have a long gestation period.  Screenwriter Callie Khouri was hired in 1980, eleven years before the film’s release, a time period in which seemingly every actress in Hollywood was discussed for the two leads.  Directors and actors linked to the project were just as numerous, even for the small role that spring boarded Brad Pitt into hunky superstardom.  Eleven years is a long time, but it seems to have been well spent.

            Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis star as the titular duo, a pair of close friends just trying to get away for the weekend.  An unfortunate event at a bar puts the cops on their tales, and they flee across the southwest.  Trials and tribulations follow, but Thelma and Louise ultimately remains about two buddies going on a road trip.  From the beginning, Thelma stated that the trip was all about letting their hair down, and in that regard it’s a rousing success.

            The chemistry in buddy movies is just as important and just as treacherous as in romances, and it’s one of the places where the long search really paid off.  Sarandon and Davis are like real friends, comfortable wiling away the hours they spend together joking, bickering, or simply ignoring each other.  Perhaps what’s most realistic about them is that they aren’t anywhere near the same person.  Sarandon’s Louise is independent and world-wise while Davis’s Thelma is stifled and frustrated.  It’s understandable that Louise would be drawn to Thelma and vice versa.  Thelma needs someone like Louise to bring her out, and Louise likes having someone under her wing.  We’ve all seen this sort of friendship before.

            These distinct characteristics also makes for very different character arcs, with Thelma bursting out of her shell and Louise quieting down.  These inverse reactions to their circumstances is yet another indication of how different yet complimentary these two are.  Louise, with her more realistic outlook, seems to know in her gut where they’re headed, and Sarandon sells her character’s slow acceptance.  Davis gets to take a big, joyful bite out of her role, funneling much of the good-natured energy of film directly through her.  It’s another reminder of just how great Davis was and just how much audiences have lost with her precipitous fall from the spotlight.

            It’s also nice to see Ridley Scott stretch a bit to wrangle this film’s delicate tone.  Granted, there’s still plenty of explosions and action pieces here, but long portions of the film take place in Louise’s Thunderbird convertible, with the duo more interested in downing Wild Turkey than having a conversation.  This leaves lots of room for quiet character moments, something not often seen in Scott’s big action pieces, but he shows here that he has more range than one might expect.  Yeah, there’s some moments that seem a bit off, but I bought the ending, so something was certainly working.

            Khouri didn’t have expectations to worry about since Thelma and Louise was her first screenplay.  It’s an impressive debut, with good characters and nice thematic work, but there’s a few too many detours and coincidences for it to roll along smoothly.  I scoffed a bit when Pitt showed up the second time, a coincidence that would have been forgivable given the payoff, but a series of encounters with a cartoonishly misogynistic truck driver had me shaking my head.  It’s entirely out of character with the rest of the film, sticking out like an unnecessary sore thumb.  There’s a few other moments like this, but if you are able to disregard them the film can amble along rather pleasingly.

            I get why a lot of people latch on to Thelma and Louise.  Given the material, it’s astoundingly fun, full of comradery and jokes that soften the meat of the story.  Its missteps are there but forgivable, and you get to watch something rarely seen on film:  two women really letting their hair down.  Even if you’re not into that, there’s always that sweet Thunderbird to stare at.

            Other Notes:

Ø   Thelma is an epically bad judge of character.

Ø  Boy does that music date it

Ø  *shakes fist* Hans Zimmer again!

Ø  I want to be someone’s stormtrooper of love.

Fury

Released:  October 17^th, 2014

Rated:  R

Studio:  Columbia Pictures

Starring:  Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal

Directed by:  David Ayer

Written by:  David Ayer

Personal Bias Alert:  likes war movies, likes Brad Pitt and Logan Lerman

8.5 of 10

“In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.” ~José Narosky

            That’s one of many lessons that Logan Lerman’s Norman must learn quickly when he’s shoved into a cramped tank with four seasoned veterans.  Norman’s greener than green, trained to be a typist instead of a fighter, but through some error that Fury never bothers to explain he ends up in that tank.  What follows is a well-trod war story, that of the seasoned vets breaking in the young recruit, but the twist of telling it in the confines of a tank during the waning parts of World War II breathes enough life into this astoundingly executed piece to make it one of the year’s best films.

            Brad Pitt plays Don, the tough but subtly intelligent commander of the titular tank.  He smells the weakness Norman has brought to his crew and takes a rough but effective path in training the young man.  As their relationship complicates, the two come to silently recognize something in each other, and the audience is treated to a prolonged scene in which their gentler sides get to show.  It’s marvelous, one of my favorite scenes of the year, and highlights just how great Pitt and Lerman are in these roles.  I knew Pitt had it in him, and I pray that he finally gets the awards recognition he’s long deserved, but Lerman may overshadow him.  He’s such a surprise here, getting to play a much different role than we’ve ever seen him in.  That said, neither man is better than the other; both turned in A-game performances.

            The rest of the crew is rounded out by Shia LaBeouf as the religious cannon man, an underused Michael Peña as the driver, and Jon Bernthal as the uncouth loader.  These roles are noticeably underwritten, especially Peña’s, but the caliber of acting each guy brings makes this detriment less bothersome.  LaBeouf in particular, with his hollowed out eyes and terrible mustache, manages to do a lot with a sparse, varied role.  In some scenes he must spout thematically resonant bible verses, while in others he’s expected to provide some much-needed comic relief.  He somehow manages to pulls off both sides of this character and still convey a weariness that seems to be dragging him down with each step.

            The performances set a high bar, which is equaled by some gorgeous cinematography by director David Ayer and DP Roman Vasyanov.  They embed the horrors of war into the mud of the German countryside, fog and mist constantly hanging in the background, making it seem like a battle is always just around the corner.  The battle sequences we do get are expertly handled, alternating between the action inside the tank and what’s happening outside it to keep the sequences clear and tense.  Yes, there’s some beauty to it all, but the brutality always looms, as it does over everything in this film.

            The story is slightly below par, feeling a bit too familiar to be truly great.  Many elements cut very close to the legendary Saving Private Ryan, which few films compare favorably to.  Add in that the ending happens a bit too neatly to seem real, and the plot becomes a noticeable drawback.  Still, Ayer made a great choice by making his story about a tank crew.  At least the action sequences seemed fresh and not just more ground troop maneuvering that we’ve seen a million times.

            Walking out of the theater, I was still in a reverie, carrying the film’s moodiness with me out into the night air.  It’s an affecting film that seeps into you, and I found that Fury grew into a greater film the more I reflected on it.

            Other Notes:

Ø  Brad Pitt standing on that tank is a hero’s shot if I ever saw one.

Ø  There’s no way those eggs survived in Don’s pack.

Ø  People in my theater were cheering when the Nazi’s were being killed.  I’ve never understood wanting to cheer during a war film.