Each year, the Cannes Film Festival commemorates an artist, film, or creative institute by featuring them as the face of the festival on its iconic posters. Films like Pierrot le fou (1965) in 2018, The Truman Show (1998) in 2022, and just last year, A Man and A Woman (1966) had this privilege in addition to artists like Claudia Cardinale in 2017 and Catherine Deneuve in 2023. Festival goers are offered time for reflection on the reverence these films and individuals hold years later. In the 79th edition of the festival, Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise is the latest to be spotlighted for its 35th anniversary, where it premiered at Cannes in 1991.
When two friends, Thelma (Susan Sarandon) and Louise (Genna Davis), drop everything to embark on a fishing cabin getaway in the mountains, their plans unexpectedly take a turn after a troublesome encounter at a roadside bar forces them on a road trip across the south of the USA. Packed to the brim with sharp wit, grand action sequences, and, above all else, heart, writer Callie Khouri catalyzes a lightning-in-a-bottle Academy Award-winning original screenplay.
Silk scarves, red lipstick, black sunglasses – it does not get any more South of France than watching Thelma and Louise drive off in a convertible car with the wind in their stylish hair. But there is more to it than merely the surface-level cosmetics as to why it is featured this year. In a genre dominated by male leads, the magic of the film sits within the writing and portrayals of the titular characters – challenging countless societal norms of the 90s.
Sarandon’s Thelma is the closest to an independent woman that you can get in that era – headstrong and self-assured. Shrouded by a mysterious, life-altering incident, Sarandon masterfully balances Thelma’s impulsive surges of female rage with notes of melancholic emotional intensity. Sarandon does this all whilst carrying the moral obligation to be an older sister figure to Louise and act as her anchor through the traumatic events that unfold. She masterfully holds the enormous weight that her character has and allows glimmers of it to come through at just the right times.
Acting as Thelma’s antithesis, Davis nails her performance as the stereotypical submissive, poorly treated wife. Comparable to what many women may have experienced at that time, Louise’s naivety about the world is dramatically shattered when confronted with the lack of agency and bodily autonomy women have. What makes her stand out is how it radicalizes her rather than causing her to cower. The way Davis is able to carry Louise on an extraordinarily powerful and poignant arc that never feels rushed or overbearing is a testament to her acting prowess.
Khouri intentionally crafts a push-pull dynamic between the two that allows for both to grow from each other – Thelma leaning into her desire for stability in her romantic relationships and Louise exploring the strength in being opinionated. Thanks to Khouri’s stellar writing and their incredible characterizations, Sarandon and Davis have cemented themselves as one of the most iconic duos to have ever graced the silver screen.
The narrative could quite easily fall into the trap of strictly exploring the exploitation of women in a somber tone, and while this is touched upon, Khouri decides to hit the pedal to the metal in tackling strong feminist ideas within a larger-than-life genre feature. Exploding trucks, car chases, and shootouts – it has it all. We are reminded that films spearheaded by women do need to fit into the box of being the coy love interest, earnest maternal figure, or seductive femme fatale.
In the last 25 years, the impact the film has on the film industry is evident. Promising Young Woman (2020) and Gone Girl (2014) are prime examples of stories dealing with female rage and body autonomy, whereas Boys on the Side (1995) and Unpregnant (2020) take inspiration from the premise of women taking a road trip. Yet, nothing seems to come close to the gravitas that Scott’s film exudes.
Even in 2026 at Cannes, we continue to see such strong themes within the features being played as part of the festival, with Diego Luna’s Ceniza en la Boca delving into women’s struggles earnestly and Na Hong-jin’s Hope being a large-scale genre epic. But, there was one clear film that strikes the same balance of the two to the scale of what Thelma & Louise encapsulates – Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. Jane Schoenbrun offers this from the trans perspective of bodily autonomy, agency, and sexuality in a big slasher-thriller genre film. Although it may not be directly inspired, Scott’s cult classic paved the way for films like Schoenbrun’s to be possible.
Thelma & Louise is a singular film – a once-in-a-blue-moon feature that is driven by the feminist struggles of its time, subversion of genre expectations, and highly entertaining stunts. Sarandon and Davis’ chemistry is unmatched and serves as the blueprint for on-screen duos for years to come. Tied together with a phenomenal screenplay by Khouri, the buddy road trip remains unmatched.
Retrospective Courtesy of Nandita Joshi
Feature Image Courtesy of Festival de Cannes | Credit to MGM & Sony