Women In Detour

The representation of the women in Detour is very interesting.  Both women appear to make their own decisions free from the influence of the male characters.  Sue makes the move from New York to LA on her own despite her boyfriend’s lack of support.  She appears to be an independent woman with dreams she is willing to sacrifice for.  Sue doesn’t give up on her dream or back down from her plan just because Al is dismissive of it, she breaks away and moves to LA.  However Sue’s role within the film really has nothing to do with this perceived independence.  She is portrayed as an unachievable symbol of Roberts’ desire for happiness.

Vera also seems to be an independent female character, however she is also manipulative, controlling and greedy.  When Vera recognizes Charles Haskell Jr’s car she schemes out a plan to take advantage of Al Roberts.  From there on out she controls every minute of their time together.  Unsatisfied with the money Roberts finds on Haskell, she first insists on selling the car and then insists that Roberts pretend to be Haskell so that they can inherit money from Haskell’s father.  Seeing a woman in control is refreshing, but she doesn’t seem to be in control of herself and at times she appears to be very vulnerable.  In the evenings she gets drunk and tries, unsuccessfully, to woo Roberts.  In these moments her power seems to shrink away until she is reduced to a lonely girl.  To me this gives her character some sympathy and realism.  No one can be so authoritative all the time, everyone has their softer side and I think representing that in the story makes it more powerful and relatable.  Although it may not be the most commanding representation of a woman I think it get closer to a more realistic representation than I’ve seen of other movies of the time.