Classic Review: Bonnie and Clyde

Left: The original Bonnie and Clyde. Right: Faye Dunaway & Warren Beatty in character portraying the two.

Bonnie and Clyde is a 1967 flick starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty as the infamous gun-trottin' bank-robbin' title characters. I wasn't too familiar with the details of the Bonnie and Clyde story; I just knew they were a rebellious ass couple who gave the single-finger salute to the law (and the rest of the world, really) and began their robbing, fleeing and killing spree. This movie gave me alot of insight as to what happened in detail and I thought it was great. I usually prefer a good classic comedy as opposed to a drama, but I'll be honest. It was Warren Beatty day on TCM and because he was a complete and utter deliciouspotness of hotness when he was younger, I didn't care what the movie was as long as he was in it. I wasn't too familiar with Faye Dunaway's work; as a late 80s/90s baby the only thing I remember her being in was Dunston Checks In; I found out later that she was in Mommie Dearest but aside from those three movies, I'm still not too familiar with her work. In any case, I definitely don't regret having watched this movie.

I'm not sure of too many people by now who don't know the story of Bonnie and Clyde to some degree, but I think the movie gave it proper justice in its description as opposed to just hearsay or the jist of the story. If you want the entire story in detail you can check out their biography on Wikipedia but I can give a short synopsis of the movie. Clyde Barrow met Bonnie Parker outside of a store one day and the frustrated wife seemed taken with the petty criminal. Fast forward a little bit into their short acquaintance and Clyde took Bonnie with him on what turned into history. Robbing banks, taking cops on a chase through each jurisdiction they crossed, couple of shootouts at their hideouts until going out in a blaze of bullet-riddled glory, they definitely were no saints. I learned most of what I know about the story from the movie, then I followed it up with Wiki and a few news articles. If you want some in depth, I'd suggest you do the same. I try to watch the movie first if I'm not familiar with the story, and then I go read about it. This enables me to just enjoy the movie instead of making comparisons and not being able to really watch it.

For the most part, the movie stayed true to the actual happening of the events as they unfolded, however I do have to say I was disappointed in the chemistry between the main characters in this film. Even though I had read in articles and stories that there was speculation about Clyde's sexual preferences, I still thought he and Bonnie must have been crazy passionate with each other. In the movie though, the passion fell kinda flat for me. I did see love between them, I saw that they had fun together, and I could tell as the movie went by that their isolated lifestyle and the reputation they had developed as a couple brought them closer, in that 'us against the world' kinda way---which was in fact true for the situation lol---but passion I did not see. As mentioned in my other blog, I am a sucker for passion. It's raw and hot, sexy and daring. It can be tender too, but when I think of passion between two people, those two did not come to mind at all. If I had to say any part of the movie disappointed me it would probably be that part because I was expecting more.

I was very surprised to see Gene Hackman playing the part of Clyde's older and equally rambunctious brother Buck, who'd made an attempt to settle down with his wife when Bonnie and Clyde found them. I'm a younger one so I'm used to seeing Hackman in a couple of films, but usually as the good guy. I have to say, he did a good job in this film as a bad guy. Buck Barrow was just as bad as his younger brother and he too went out in a fitting way for the lifestyle they came to lead. His poor wife cracked up entirely over the situation and I can't say I blame her, she was the sole survivor and ironically, the only one of the bunch who never fully came around to the lifestyle.

The movie does a good job of keeping you interested, especially if you're not familiar with the details of the story as I said earlier. There are its funny parts, the dramatic parts, and despite knowing the end result the entire movie and knowing that Bonnie and Clyde had it coming to them, there was a sad undertone to the movie that left me feeling bad for them at the end. Of course, there's no reason to feel bad for them at all, they knew fully what they were doing, continuing to do and what they'd die doing, and yet they continued anyway, with no thought, remorse or regret for any of their actions. In fact, it was quite the contrary and they reveled in their growing fame with each act; began to believe their own hype I believe. With that said, I still found myself feeling bad when that trap was set for them by their 'friend' and they both died in the final shootout. Overall the tale I think is a sad one, but I'm glad the movie didn't romanticize it and make it all about romance, because the way the story was told the romance was not the main factor. When you get down to it, Bonnie and Clyde both seemed like unhappy individuals looking for excitement and thrills, not to mention notoriety. They have all of that and more now. All in all, the story is still something to read today and the movie didn't disappoint.