Stick them up in the air for Bonnie and Clyde
“This here's Miss Bonnie Parker. I'm Clyde Barrow. We rob banks.”
-Clyde
America loves their bad guys. They’re prevalent throughout American cinema and culture and there always seems to be a certain sexyness and sultriness surrounding them. Bonnie and Clyde wasn’t the original film that focused on the criminal, but it’s the one that defined the American bad guy film. It’s a revolutionary film, one that despite not being very shocking given the cinema of today still holds a position as one of the great works of American Cinema.
The main element of Bonnie and Clyde that stands out today about Bonnie and Clyde to a modern audience is the pure unabashed, brash since of style that oozes out of every frame. From the ever visual element changing throughout the course of the film to the tone that expertly mixed comedy, drama and gruesome violence everything in Bonnie and Clyde for the time was utterly revolutionary. The sequences still hold to a modern audience as well though as the unique tonal and visual style is hard to not be captivated by the film.
The film also presents fascinating characters and features a star making performances from Fey Dunaway. The quirky individuals each frustrated with a different part of their identities and each turning to crime as a way to qualm them is something that’s seen often in modern cinema but was holy new here. Still the characters still do not seem outdated as there still as much of a certain consistent charm and fascination to them as ever.
Bonnie and Clyde may be seen today solely as a pioneer to modern audiences which is a shame. Bonnie and Clyde is still a marvellous film and is just as intoxicating now as it was to an older audience.
-Frederick Cholowski
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