Action/Biography/Crime
1 hour and 51 minutes
Rated: R
Written by: David Newman & Robert Benton
Directed by: Arthur Penn
Produced by: Warren Beatty
Cast:
Warren Beatty
Faye Dunaway
Michael J. Pollard
Gene Hackman
Estelle Parsons
There has never been... You have never seen... a motion picture like this one!
History has a disturbing habit of repeating itself. The era of cinema from roughly around 1967 till about 1974 showcases one of these specific historical repetitions that was occurring largely in the United States, but quite arguably around the world as well. It was a time when the disenfranchised few were beginning to scream at the silent majority who were in control of things, largely due to the direction the nation and the world was heading in. Vietnam, Nixon, LBJ, the military, banks, the older generation, etc. - these were all topics that were under fire, most, if not all, for a justifiable reason. This era in cinema, known as rebel cinema, was a time where Hollywood learned very quickly that it would be wise to tap into the voices of the disenfranchised few. By essentially allowing the lunatics - in form of (often) young filmmaker's who shared a message and vision for the nation - to essentially run the asylum (Hollywood itself), rebel cinema was born into creation and soared to innovative and artistic heights that breathed new life into a stale and dying film industry. Films like: The Graduate, Point Blank, The Dirty Dozen, Rosemary's Baby, Easy Rider, and of course Bonnie and Clyde.
The story of Bonnie and Clyde, much like the stories of most of the aforementioned films within the rebel cinema era, spoke directly to the lives and troubles of the disenfranchised few by paralleling it with a previous storyline set within a different era where the disenfranchised few were screaming at the silent majority: the era of the Great Depression. Throughout Bonnie and Clyde, one can see signs for Franklin Roosevelt's presidential campaign hanging in the background, obscured by buildings or trees or parked cars. By placing these posters in obscurity, almost out of sight, the political promises of yesteryear and how little they meant to the people of the time reflected the then political promises of the late 1960s, and just how little they meant to audience members. Audiences aren't meant to identify with politicians and peacekeepers, they're meant to identify with outlaws and murderers.
While there are some brilliant robbery sequences, almost all of them ending in some sort of shootout, the film largely focuses on its protagonists and their qualities as human beings. Several times Bonnie and Clyde show great compassion towards their fellow man including sequences where they listen to a man who tells them his house was taken by the bank before they offer the man a pistol and he fires several rounds into the home that was stolen from him. Another sequence during a robbery has Clyde ask a man if the money on the counter is his or the bank's. When the man responds that it's his, Clyde tells him to keep it. These were criminals no doubt, but Bonnie and Clyde were human beings meant to be seen as such, and therefore are construed as heroes to audience members who felt as if they too had been wronged in some way or another by the status quo. It's a simple but brilliant storyline whose writers, David Newman and Robert Benton ought to be commended for.
Director Arthur Penn too should be praised, largely for the performances he pulls from every single member of the cast - large roles or small. As mentioned previously, Bonnie and Clyde are almost always shown as compassionate heroes who care just as much about others as they do for themselves - if not more so. Gene Hackman is brilliant as always and provides much of the in-house entertainment. His character Buck, who's much rowdier than Beatty's Clyde, is an excellent edition to the gang of thieves. And while Estelle Parsons won an Academy Award for her role as the loudmouthed Blanche Barrow, it is Michael J. Pollard who delivers the best performance out of the supporting cast. As the young C.W. Moss, Pollard shows a naive spirit of a youth whose life is suddenly given purpose and meaning only to have that sensation of life pulled out from under him by the film's conclusion. It is Moss that is unquestionably the most affected character by the film's story.
Cinematographer Burnett Guffey won an Oscar for the film as well and it's easy to see why. The shots throughout Bonnie and Clyde are so pristinely framed one feels that they could pull any still from the film and hang it on their wall as art. The films climax, choreographed terrifically by Penn, is breathtaking to behold and no doubt leaves every first time viewer speechless. Guffey captures all the madness and murder just as gaily as he does the more heartfelt sequences. The film's editing, done by Dede Allen, should also be commended as brilliant, as it helps set the overall pace and gives every scene its intended atmosphere.
There are moments in our heroes performances that are unconvincing at times. Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty are largely convincing, but in brief instances their performances don't seem to gel with precisely what is happening in a scene. A perfect example of this is when Clyde takes Bonnie back to see her mother - after several bank jobs have occurred and they are wanted for murder. Both Beatty and Dunaway don't seem to react in any sort of natural way to what Bonnie's mother tells them both and the overall sequence feels uncomfortable. This happens a few times throughout the movie, but it is never really as alarming as it is in the previously mentioned sequence. For the most part, as Bonnie and Clyde, Beatty and Dunaway deliver the goods.
While it has some relatively minor performance flaws that are easily overlooked, Bonnie and Clyde remains one of those extremely important movies that showcases just how well this artistic medium can do when it taps into the societal structure around it. At the very least, it is a fun and entertaining ride, and all first time viewers are more than likely going to find themselves enamored with the titular heroes.
8.5/10
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