The road movie is traditionally a male genre, relying on the sense of freedom and independence that having one's own transport provides and which has usually been the privilege of men
What is innovatory about "Thelma & Louise" is the way it reequips the genre for women
Thelma (Geena Davis) is a housewife trapped in a meaningless marriage, Louise (Susan Sarandon) is a waitress in a not very significant relationship
They decide to give themselves a little space by taking off for a weekend
But when Louise shoots a man who is trying to rape Thelma, they are precipitated into a far more radical break with their past lives
The setting of action in the American southwest and the acts of outlawry the women are obliged to commit in order to keep on the run give the film some of the feel of a Western
What makes it nevertheless a women's film is that the relationship between the two principals is at the center of the story
The various men they encounter, both the ones they leave behind and those they meet on the road have less importance for Thelma and Louise than the two women do for each other
Predictably, the film met with hostility from some male viewers, on the grounds that the men were caricatured and that the film encouraged violence
