Partners in crimes: Film’s finest female dynamic duos

The trailers for the upcoming films Drive-Away Dolls (opening February 23) and Love Lies Bleeding (opening March 8) have us thinking about all the badass women who have teamed up in films through the years, especially the ones with criminal intent. They may love each other or hate each other, but they belong to a sisterhood of women who aren’t content to simply play the hand society has dealt them. They’re fighting back against a rigged game. For these characters, rules and morals are merely suggestions. That’s what makes them so much fun to watch. Here are our favorite female lawbreakers and troublemakers from films of the past, listed in chronological order of release.

Louise and Thelma, Thelma and Louise (1991)

We have to start with the queens of the ultimate getaway road movie, . These two badass ladies, played by Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, paved the way for many of the other women on this list. They don’t set out to be criminals, but they’re forced into it by a society that insists they sublimate their own desires and identities for the comfort and convenience of men. Watching them come into their power and experience true freedom for the first time through an increasingly volatile joyride is still exhilarating, and unfortunately remains painfully relevant to this day.