Bonnie And Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)

Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967) is a biographical neo-noir crime drama that follows the capers of the infamous crime duo: Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) and Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty). The film is arguably a landmark of the ‘New Hollywood’ era, epitomising the conventions offered by this new age after the decline of the studio system.

The titular couple meet after Clyde attempts to steal Bonnie’s mother’s car. The two quickly hit it off, and they soon become partners in crime – holding up banks for the thrill of it, despite their attempts being not particularly lucrative. The couple then recruit C.W. Moss, a petrol station attendant, as their getaway driver and later Clyde’s older brother Buck alongside his wife Blanche soon join the gang.

After a heist goes wrong, the gang flee to Missouri before they are located by the police. Two officers are killed in a shootout, and the gang also manages to take a police ranger, Frank Hamer, hostage whom the gang take photos with, before tying him to a boat and setting him free down the river.

A sudden raid catches the gang off guard, killing Buck and injuring Blanche’s eye – Bonnie, Clyde, and C.W. are barely able to escape themselves. The trio seek refuge at C.W.’s father’s house, who believe that the couple have corrupted his son after he sees a new tattoo on his chest that he decided to get after Bonnie’s suggestion. Seeing this, C.W.’s father strikes a deal with Hamer, allowing the police to trap Bonnie and Clyde in exchange for C.W.’s freedom. The film ends with the couple being mercilessly gunned down after being trapped by the police.

The film was directed by Arthur Penn, who set out to break the conventions of the Classical Hollywood style present throughout the Golden Age of Hollywood. Sex and graphic violence is openly depicted throughout the film, which is evident in Clyde’s ambiguous sexuality alongside the brutal violence portrayed in scenes such as the gang’s getaway and the brutal ending. The film was also influenced considerably by French New Wave cinema, which was typically characterised by rapid tonal shifts and experimental editing techniques.

Bonnie and Clyde’s narrative structure is linear, but utilises jarring time jumps to create a film with noticeably unorthodox pacing. I found this to be the main drawback of the film, as although the first third of the film is densely packed with lots of events edited in rapid succession, the film seems to ‘peter out’ afterwards with not much occurring until the very end of the film.

I did enjoy Bonnie and Clyde for the light-hearted crime it had to offer. The film’s implementation of unorthodox filmmaking techniques also kept me intrigued throughout. However, I didn’t feel much emotional attachment towards any of the characters, and the film’s peculiar pacing ultimately resulted in a disjointed narrative experience.

Overall, I would rate Bonnie and Clyde ★★★½.