Bonnie and Clyde 1967
I saw this movie on TV, maybe as a teenager, and remember liking it. I wound up buying it on Blu-ray because of that, the fact that it is a huge classic, and it came in a neat “digibook” case and I hadn’t seen one of those before. Watching it again, I think I was a little disappointed. The movie looks great, which is key because the look is a big part of the appeal of the film not least of all the two stars, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. However the story itself isn’t that complex, with not much of a story arc and kind of minimal development as these characters cast their lots early in the movie and then wait for that to play out fatefully. Some of the acting and lines just aren’t that good and the movie lacks a lot of polish, maybe because the director had too much faith in his actors. Blanche is just a screaming idiot. And even Gene Wilder overplays his part (it was one of his first movies), throwing off the balance of the movie.
Having read up on the real life Bonnie and Clyde, the movie is mostly fiction, though it touches on a number of truthful aspects. The movie does move along pretty quickly and is mostly fun to watch, with a great ending of violence and then just The End, not even a zoom out or anything, as if the film ran out at the same time as Bonnie and Clyde’s time ran out. I think the movie succeeds as an action movie, but also as a costume drama with great clothes and cars, and while it was ahead of its time on sex and violence to some degree, there isn’t a lot of meat.
Written: 22 Jul 2018
Owned on: Blu-ray, Digital