Review: Bonnie and Clyde is one of the films that people point to as the start of the Golden Era of cinema; the Auteur Generation, where directors break free from studio constraints and start taking liberties with their own work. From the films first scene, a closeup of Faye Dunaway's lips, Arthur Penn starts breaking with the traditional way of shooting a film. While anyone can appreciate what the film meant for the future what really matters is if it still entertaining, and it certainly is. Bonnie and Clyde is a great adventure about the famous Barrow gang on the lam and robbing banks. The problem I had with the film is that it may take too many liberties and it almost feels like Penn wasn't sure of the mood he wanted to set. Much of the film is lighthearted and borderline slapstick at times, never really creating a momentous feeling of tension that one would expect from life on the run from the law. When the film does take a serious turn, the impact of it was lessened because of the nature beforehand. I lost sensitivity for the characters who took their illegal activities in such a carefree way that, when they did drop their air of being untouchable, I couldn't feel for them. Despite this, Bonnie and Clyde remains classic film that holds up over time.
Rating: 4/5
Posts
I think we agree about this film although our scores are a bit different.
ReplyDeleteThe escalating violence that you refer to I think was intentional, but it's interesting that it turned you off, whereas for myself, the escalated violence wasn't enough for my modern sensibilities.
It wasn't so much the escalating violence that bothered me, but the general mood of the film. The lighthearted, care free counter-culture attitude of Bonnie and Clyde seemed to clash with the content of the film, and how the film ends.
ReplyDelete