Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

“This here's Miss Bonnie Parker. I'm Clyde Barrow. We rob banks.” That line is probably the most famous of this film’s screenplay, and the bullet ridden ending is perhaps one of the most famous scenes in cinematic history. But, I think that the most striking thing about Arthur Penn’s 1967 epic masterpiece “Bonnie and Clyde” is the dynamic interactions of the ill-fated duo. Bonnie, played beautifully by Faye Dunaway, is a common small-town girl for the Midwest, until she meets up with Clyde (Warren Beatty) who introduces her to a highly romanticized world of bank robbery.

The film personalizes the duo to the audience, as they pick up car mechanic C.W. Moss (Michael J. Pollard) and Clyde’s brother (Gene Hackman) and his wife as they find themselves wrapped into a life on the run.

One of the extraordinary facets of the relationship of the duo is the status of Clyde, an anti-hero. He is a figure of real-life importance, but one that is highly different from the archival solemn antagonist that has been repeated so many times in the past. He is a trickster. He knows exactly what to say and when to say it, instantly attractive to Bonnie, who is looking for a little adventure in her life. He is also not, as he so describes himself, not a “lovey boy.”

Clyde Barrow, the real bank robber, was recorded to have been a bisexual. In this film, he specifically states that he is not into boys, and we find out later that he is impotent. His childlike personality makes him think that he is doing nothing wrong, just robbing banks for fun. In one scene, Clyde is holding up a grocery store for some food while Bonnie is waiting in the car for him just across the street. Clyde is asking the cashier for some raspberry pie when all of a sudden he is attacked by the butcher wielding a knife. Clyde and him scurry about on the floor until Clyde manages to hit him on the head. Clyde runs to the car in a panicked state. “What’d he do that for?” he asks Bonnie. “I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone.” From this, we get a little bit of foreshadowing to the fact that Clyde doesn’t want to hurt people, merely just get what he wants.

The movie is a great story, but unfortunately that is not all that is needed for a great film. This is a great film, and I must humbly ask myself what qualifications I have to judge such a movie. I have none, but I will do so none-the-less out of a purely educational point of view. I don’t think that the transitions were very effective. Time seems to slip into and out of certain scenes.

It is historically true, though, that one of the gang member’s father set up Bonnie and Clyde for their infamous deaths. The cold-hearted way the father treats his son, Moss, in the film shows why Moss wanted to go with the gang and be on his own.

Also, this movie had Gene Wilder ("Young Frankenstein"), as a scared townie.

My rating: 8.9/10

Critique: I think that they should have stuck more to the historical accuracy of the story, although I understand that in different mediums, some things need to change. Overall, a great story with solider performances by all parties.

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91%