Bonnie and Clyde is
a wonderful adaptation of the two armed robbers who terrorized America in the
early 1930s. The movie starts with a fantastic acting pair in Warren Beatty and
Faye Dunaway—their performances alone did it for me. But another memorable
person in the movie is Buck’s wife, Blanche, played by Estelle Parsons.
Her portrayal
was awesome, to be honest. Her acting trumps the rest. She was the character
you want to hate just for being there, and she played that part so well that
she won an Academy Award for her troubles—and it was well deserved.
The movie was a
landmark at the time of its release due to its sexual content and graphic
violence. If you compare it to what we see today, the content in the film might
seem almost nonexistent. But in 1967, the implied sexual act of Bonnie on Clyde
was frowned upon. Another thing that wasn’t well received was the glorification
of the characters as anti-heroes when, in reality, they were criminals.
The movie tells
the tale of Bonnie and Clyde, two strangers who meet and begin a life of crime
after their first heist together gives them a rush.
They continue
terrorizing and driving around America, but when they notice that getting away
after every robbery is becoming difficult, they recruit a new member to be
their getaway driver. After a rough start, the trio starts doing well and is
eventually joined by Clyde’s brother and his wife.
The five of them
keep getting involved in shootouts and robberies, and as a viewer, nothing
seems clearer than expecting the movie to end the way it does.
The movie’s
production had some serious setbacks. Warren Beatty bought the film rights and
tried producing it after all previous attempts had failed. He had the script
rewritten and began shooting after convincing Arthur Penn to direct. Upon
completion, Beatty faced another problem: Warner Bros. refused to give the film
a wide release, fearing bad reception due to its sexual content and graphic
violence. After Warren threatened to sue, it got a wide release, and the 2.5millionproductionrakedin2.5millionproductionrakedin70
million at the box office.
Now, the movie
isn’t entirely honest to the real Bonnie and Clyde story. They made some
changes to the characters just to add drama. The whole talk of Clyde’s sexual
problem portrayed in the movie is fictional, as is the humiliation of the Texas
Ranger. C.W. Moss never existed but was introduced as a merger of two other
characters in the gang.
The movie wasn’t a total rollercoaster ride—there were moments when things went smoothly and easily. But there’s nothing like the awesome ending; the cinematic conclusion is a classic. This is one of the good movies from the old days that’s worth watching anytime.
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