Rating 86/100

AFI #42

Star crossed lovers. A deadly ending. One wild adventure in between. That’s the story of Bonnie and Clyde. 

I’m sure you know the gist. The main details of the most famous couple and how they glamorized bank robbery in the 1930s, turning it into a form of entertainment for the starving masses. But did you know Bonnie liked to write or that Clyde had an issue with intimacy? These are the side stories highlighted in the 1967 classic, which turned those cold blooded killers into someone that you wanted to root for. 

Which. Is. Art. 

Okay… if the history books can be believed, it’s still a fairytale and the real story is less glamorous and more deadly.

Now back to the point, which is whether or not the movie was any good. Who cares how factually accurate it was….

What I love about movies is how quickly a person’s wants can be established. Bonnie and Clyde opens with Bonnie lying in bed, struggling with the point of her life, when she spies a young man trying to steal her mother’s car. That’s it. Easy as pie (thought I’ve never understood that saying since making pie isn’t that easy). In those two minutes we know that Bonnie isn’t happy with her life, Clyde is broke and a thief, and both want something different for themselves, hence the long walk through town while they talk which shows that Bonnie is clearly enamored by the gun carrying Clyde. And just like that, we have the makings of a wild adventure. All of this without a lick of exposition, voice overs, or any of those tricks that writers use to cover up what they’re doing. Instead, the audience feels the conflict. 

And from that opening I was hooked. 

You could say that I loved the movie purely because of the aesthetic. I appreciated the attention to details. The thought out costumes for Bonnie, which showed her as cutting edge in fashion, pushing the fashion boundaries like she does in life. A juxtaposition to the outfits that Blanche was always seen in. Another great way to show their personalities without explaining them. It was more than that though. The whole film had this cypia quality, like a lazy, summer afternoon, sending the viewer back to the nostalgic, good old days in the same ways that Bonnie and Clyde won their audience to begin with. And another great way to win the viewers of the movie. 

Are Bonnie and Clyde really as bad as they seem? They look like two nice people trying to make a place in a crumbling world. I wanted them to live. 

You could also say that I loved the movie because of the superb special FX. I will tell you this… I didn’t know the late 60s had this in them. Some of the scenes blew my mind and it almost makes me wonder if any of the actors were hurt. Gun shots are shown, even to the point of blood spatter. The ending scene really cinched it for me, to the point that I almost felt all the bullet holes. Between the actors and the FX it was just downright jaw dropping. 

In the end, it was the chemistry between Beatty and Dunaway that sold me on the movie. I never want to see anything less than what those two pulled off. Sadly, I was forced to watch The Descent after this beauty (click here to listen to my review on the podcast Movies & Mayhem) Which is a cold fish at its best. But then again, maybe that’s why Bonnie and Clyde is the classic that it is. You just can’t pull off that magic again. It was so good that I didn’t even question Bonnie running off into the sunset with Clyde after the walk through town. I was about to do it myself. 

What??? 

I didn’t question a very absurd plot decision?

Nope… and I would most definitely watch it all again. 

Happy Watching

Love Kait