"Bonnie and Clyde" is a revolutionary film. It marked a new era in movie making and helped to birth a lot of the greatness that followed. It was a huge part of the bridge between Old Hollywood and New Hollywood. There was a "New Wave" film movement happening mainly in France and it was about more of the realism and less of the contrivance that Hollywood had been associated with. It was more about showing life as it was and challenging and shocking people, getting them to have more of an experience of thought and exploration, more of a soul level experience at the cinema. Arthur Penn, the director of Bonnie and Clyde was also very much interested in this and wanted to make "Bonnie and Clyde" in the spirit of "New Wave" cinema. What he did was to literally bridge classic Hollywood with "New Wave" to make an incredibly entertaining movie that kinda flipped people out and made them look at movies differently.
Great movies entertain and also reveal a depth and complexity of experience. "Bonnie and Clyde" is beloved and one of my favorite movies because it absolutely succeeds in that hybrid. The fact that the experience in the movie revolves around a rebellion of oppression and societal norm, and all of the realities of following one's own destiny, makes it lightning in a bottle.
You can talk about all of the things that make this movie great, and there are many, but at the core of it's greatness is the immense watchability of Bonnie and Clyde. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway play the aforementioned roles and their chemistry really drives this film. Warren Beatty has charisma running through his veins and is one of the king's of hollywood. Jack Nicholson himself nicknamed him the player. He is the very definition of cool and I have a hard time imagining any one else playing Clyde Barrow. Faye Dunaway, in her first major movie, brought an incredible vitality and natural feel to this role. I imagine her having been raised on a farm, the daughter of an army officer, herself brimming with so much life and creativity, helped her to occupy the skin of Bonnie Parker with much of her own. Both of these actors are also incredibly attractive. Beatty wears these classy suits and hats and Faye has that memorable beret and those exotic, cat-like eyes. They're both hypnotic to look at so when they begin their courtship to start the movie, and the dialogue pops, it's like candy.
The first thing we see in the movie is a closeup of Bonnie's lips. She then lies on her bed full of angst and she's framed by the camera in her bedposts as if she's punching the bars of a jail cell. She goes to the window and looks down to see Clyde about to steal her mother's car. Thus begins the courtship. Bonnie wants him immediately but she doesn't want him to know it, and she acts like a proper lady. Her words are going ho-hum but in her eyes you can see the attraction, and Faye Dunaway is so great at pulling off this disguised flirtation. Even though she's saying all the proper things you can sense this tiger underneath. All the while Clyde is a charismatic gentleman with supreme confidence and a southern charm. The courtship ends with a great mini-scene.
Bonnie- "What's it like robbing banks?"
Clyde- "It ain't like anything."
Bonnie- "Shoot. I knew you never robbed anyplace you faker."
He pulls out his gun and she puts her fingers around the shaft with her mouth wide open. (Phallic anyone?)
Bonnie- "But you wouldn't have the gumption to use it."
Clyde- "Alright. You just wait right here and keep your eyes open."
Clyde proceeds to rob the grocery store right across the street. They hustle to the car and as they're driving away:
Bonnie- "Hey what's your name anyhow?"
Clyde- "Clyde Barrow."
Bonnie- "I'm Bonnie Parker. Pleased to meet you."
And the legend begins.
It's not just the watchability and the chemistry of these two characters that is so great. It's how much they care for each other and truly seem destined for each other. As the story progresses we are invested in everything that happens to them up until the dark finale.
Clyde- "You could find a loverboy on every corner of town it don't mean a damn to them whether you're waiting on tables or picking cotton but it does mean a damn to me."
Bonnie- "Why?"
Clyde- "Why? Watcha mean why? Because you're different. That's why. You know you're like me. You want different things. You've got something better than being a waitress. You and me traveling together we could cut a path clean across the state, and Kansas, and Missouri, and Oklahoma, and everybody'd know about it. You listen to me Miss Bonnie Parker. You listen to me. How'd you like to go walking in the dining room of the Dolphis Hotel in Dallas wearing a nice silk dress and have everybody waitin on you? Would ya like that? Does that seem like a lot to ask? It ain't enough for you. You got a right to that."
Bonnie- "Hey. When did you figure all that out?"
Clyde- "The minute I saw ya."
Bonnie- "Why?"
Clyde- "Cause you may be the best damn girl in Texas."
And you can see she has this look on her face like she's home for the first time in her life, like this person really gets and cares about her, and she is completely his in this moment. He has this boyish grin on his face because he knows it.
Clyde isn't much of a loverboy and there are several scenes in the movie where he can't perform. From a freudian stance it's as if he has overcome this with his gun. Bonnie, although frustrated, cares deeply for him so she overlooks it. This means the world to him.
As they begin their adventure there are a series of great scenes. They are a succession of comedic and feel good scenes interspersed with sudden violence and gravity. I really think this works so well for two reasons. It shows the reality of what this experience would be like rather than the myth (something that Penn plays with throughout the film), and you have the experience of vitality in its essence. Happiness is living in the moment and embracing experience. That is so much of what this movie is all about. It's the Yin and the Yang. The bliss and the pain in all it's bloom.
Clyde robs a bank that has no money and then robs a grocery store and we are lulled into a light comedic mood as Clyde nonchalantly asks the teller if he has any more moon pies, and at this point we think this is a light romp involving two legendary bank robbers of the depression-era midwest. This is going to be a typical funny adventure and then out of nowhere comes sudden shocking violence as the butcher comes up on Clyde with a meat cleaver and tries to kill him. It happens so quickly and with so much force that you're jolted. There's a struggle and Clyde pistol whips him and they get away.
Clyde- "He tried to kill me. Why'd he try to kill me? I didn't want to hurt him. Try to get something to eat around here and a son of a bitch come up on you with a meat cleaver. I ain't against him. I ain't against him."
In a scene after this once again it's light and comedic as they meet the endearing and bashful C.W. Moss. They see his talent for working with cars and recruit him for the gang and it's such a great scene because his reaction to these two bank robbers is hysterical. We then continue the pattern of being lulled into thinking this is a certain kind of movie as they go to rob a bank together, with C.W. waiting in the getaway car. Because of a screw up by C.W. Clyde ends up killing one of the pursuers who is clinging to the back of the car. It's not a typical hollywood death. He's shot right in the face and it's bloody and shocking.
Following this truly is great scene after great scene, and it's the mixture of comedy, chase scenes, gunfights, and fantastic dialogue. The biggest reason it all works so well is the spectacular cast. Every actor who played a member of the Barrow Gang was nominated for an oscar. Never in the history of film have there been more acting nominations for one movie. C.W Moss, played by Michael J. Pollard is a loveable bashful goofball. You just grin looking at him. Buck Barrow, played by a young Gene Hackman pretty much ignites every scene he's in. He's the jokester, and he's constantly in play mode with everyone. Blanche Barrow, played by Estelle Parsons in an oscar winning performance, plays the member of the gang who just wants to be domesticated and safe. She just wants a proper life and it's really interesting experiencing her in the middle of all of this. Each of these performances is incredibly entertaining and without pretense. They all feel like authentic individuals, and each one has complexity. C.W. sometimes shows fierceness. Buck the good ole boy carouser shows sweet affection towards his wife in some scenes and anger in others. Blanche, the buzzkill, shows real vulnerability at times, and sometimes shows a more playful side. It's their energy and talent all together that elevate this film to an absolute classic.
There's so much going on in this movie. Part of what Arthur Penn, the director, does is give you a party on wheels. You have the glamorous experience of being on the run with The Barrow Gang and it's incredibly entertaining riding along in that car with the frenetic camaraderie of all of these characters. One scene in particular really sums this up. A man named Eugene, played by a very young Gene Wilder, and his girlfriend Velma are fooling around on their porch when Velma sees their car being stolen. They quickly get in her car and chase after them.
Eugene- "I'm gonna tear them apart. Stealing a man's car. Wait'll I get my hands on those kids Velma. I'm gonna tear them apart.
Velma- "What if they have guns Eugene?"
Eugene- "Listen. We'd better get the police and let them handle this. Alright now turn around. Turn around and let's go back.
The Barrow Gang then chases after them, catches up, makes faces at them through the windows of their car and have them take a ride with them in the car that belongs to Eugene. It's a great scene because part of you expects them to make it difficult for these two innocent bystanders and it turns out that they're having a ball. Buck is telling jokes, Bonnie and Clyde are being their charming selves, C.W. is a harmless innocent at heart. It's literally a party on wheels. It's as if these people in the car with them are representative of the audience watching this scene. We like these people and we're enjoying this ride. Another big part of this movie that is also exemplified at the end of this scene, continuing the pattern of light comedy with sudden violence and gravity is Bonnie and Clyde's impending doom. Bonnie asks Eugene what he does for work. "I'm an undertaker", he says. Bonnie turns around with a frown and says "Get them out of here."
Movies for the most part up to this point were about escapist entertainment. You could go to the movies and watch people fall in love, have exciting adventures where the good guys invariably would win, and generally have happy endings. It didn't matter if it was true or real. It was about what the people wanted to see. Arthur Penn, like a lot of other directors during this time, knew that there were a lot of people who were much more entertained by the truth and the complexities of existence.
Along with the glamour and thrill of this adventure we also get the violence and impending doom. As the movie progresses the violence is greater and greater as the authorities gradually tighten the noose. Buck gets fatally shot, Blanche gets blinded by bullets, and Bonnie and Clyde are the walking wounded. Buck moans in pain. Blanche screams at the top of her lungs "My eyes." Bonnie and Clyde are both visibly in pain. This is real. You really feel the result of this violence.
Throughout the movie there is also this impending doom. We witness it mainly through Bonnie, it's voice. There's a very powerful segment of the film that takes place in two scenes that really gives you a visceral experience of this doom. In the first scene Bonnie runs away from the car into a field of wheat. She is crying and miserable. She's feeling the weight of this experience. She knows in her heart that this all ends in death. During this scene as Clyde is chasing her a cloud sweeps over and chases them both, blotting out the sun, foreshadowing their demise. This wasn't planned. It was just synchronistic mother nature. She begs Clyde to see her mother again as she feels both of their mortalities. I especially love this next scene of a family reunion between the Parkers. They all meet at an abandoned quarry on a barren sand hill. This scene is filtered in blue light and sporadically shot at a slower frame rate. It gives it a dream-like feel. It works perfectly to get across in image what Bonnie is feeling inside. This part of Bonnie's life is gone. There's no turning back and you can really see the recognition of this in her eyes. She set out on this glamorous, liberating journey and now she's trapped with no way out and no turning back.
Clyde to Mother Parker- "Why just the other night me and Bonnie were talking. And we were talkin about the time we're gonna settle down and get us a home. And uh she says to me, she says, "You know, I couldn't bear to live more than three miles from my precious mother." Now how'd you like that, Mother Parker?"
Mother Parker- "I don't believe I would. I surely don't. You try to live three miles from me and you won't live long, honey. You best keep runnin, Clyde Barrow and you know it. Bye, baby."
The final scene has become iconic. In movies up to this point the heroes would often live through the picture. If they died it was often slowly, with a great speech to a loved one or to their sidekick. There might also be dramatic sad music. The point is the director would cushion the blow. It was unheard of to do what Arthur Penn did to Bonnie and Clyde at the end of the movie. At the end of the movie the cops have finally caught up to the elusive legends and set up an ambush along the country road. Clyde gets out of the car towards the traitorous Ivan Moss, father of C.W. Moss, and there are a quick succession of camera cuts that create an unease. Moss glares at an oncoming car and then towards the bushes across the road, birds quickly fly out of a tree, there's movement in the bush, Moss dives under his truck, and then at the same time Clyde and Bonnie realize something is wrong. They quickly look at each other and then they are absolutely annhilated by a swarm of bullets and you see them torn apart with no time to digest it. It's sudden and relentless. You see their bullet riddled dead bodies and there is quiet, and then THE END comes up on the screen.
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