They don't make the highway a prop, they make it a partner in the story. In Thelma & Louise the road is a woman with a will of its own, a strip of asphalt that promises escape but keeps pulling them back. A director can turn a stretch of interstate into freedom by framing it with wide, sweeping shots that let the world spill out, or into confinement by cutting to cramped tunnels, rusted exit signs, or the endless hum of traffic that never lets you breathe. It’s all about the way the camera moves with the car—slow, deliberate, like a ghost on the highway—so you feel the weight of every turn and the temptation of every straightaway. It’s the same rule I follow when I hit a back‑road: trust the engine, read the signs, and let the road tell its own story.