Bonnie
and Clyde (1967) was one of the most famous, and groundbreaking,
films in cinematic history. This was the retelling of the
infamous Depression-era bank robbers who became folk heroes,
containing classic performances from Warren Beatty and Faye
Dunaway, as well as one of the most controversial endings
ever in film.
The
film certainly gives an air of romanticism, at least at first,
with its portrayal of the two people. Bonnie is persuaded
by both Clyde`s charm and his threatening aura. She has the
sort of personality which easily falls for Clyde`s comment
that she is the best girl in the state, and in no time flat
she is swept into the risky business of bank-robbing. Along
the way, they pick up a young gas station attendant named
Moss, and later, Clyde`s brother (Gene Hackman) and sister-in-law
are part of the bunch. A combination of Bonnie and Clyde`s
rebellious youth, and their numerous run-ins with the law
ensure their notoriety in a time in which people were in need
of something to free their minds of the miseries of poverty
and hardship. Yet all good things must come to end, and they
do here, as well, -- and most violently.
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One
major theme in the movie is the idea of celebrity. As Bonnie
and Clyde make their way across America, everyone wants to
be part of the story, to say that they saw (or in some cases
were robbed by) Bonnie and Clyde, celebrity criminals. The
newspapers in the country saw fit to fabricate the number
of robberies committed, in order to sell more papers and to
perpetuate the mystique. The movie makes the claim that these
crimianals were not out to harm the common folk, and in fact
there is one scene in a bank in which Clyde kindly tells an
elderly customer that he is not out to take his money away.
This anti-authoriatian attitude certainly didn`t harm the
heroic image they had aqquried. I certainly did not excatly
find these characters endearing. For me they seemed more like
white trash than radical socialists; foolish kids more than
heroes. But that tension between what they really are, and
what people (those following their story, the criminal gang
itself, and even the film`s audience) want them to be is strong
stuff, especially as it soon becomes clear it will not be
a happy ending.
The
actual relationship of Bonnie and Clyde is also interesting.
Warren Beatty, in playing this character, has a little joke
on himself and his notorious womanizing image, when Clyde
tells Bonnie clumsily that "I ain`t no loverboy." While this
may seem to be modesty on his part, it is later clear there
is more to it. Clyde suffers from impotence, as all his energies
are focussed on crime. Bonnie, on the other hand, is the sexual
aggressor, equally comfortable in her own body, and in handling
a gun. (The parallels between sex and violence are fairly
clear.) Faye Dunaway successfully plays the character for
her toughness, and, later on, for her fear that her fantastical
lifestyle will start crumbling down on her.
The
infamous ending is no doubt known to many, in a bloody, utterly
final shootout which broke taboos for both violence and grim
endings. Despite the more bloodly (and senseless) violence
in current films, those situations could never match up to
the ending of this film, as it is so final, so cold, so wrenching,
that it will stick to you for at least a few minites. Basically,
a number of thoughts should come to your head -- Do they deserve
punishment? Should the audience have been rooting for these
characters?
David
Macdonald
David
Macdonald's Movie Reviews
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