The 1967 hit “Bonnie and Clyde” directed by Arthur Penn was the latest film studied in my film class and boy was it different. A bloody and tragic tale of the infamous couple, this movie pushed the envelope in terms of violence and sex. The films we’ve studies so far, violence has been minimal. Granted, there haven’t been movies that featured criminals and the most violence we’ve seen thus far was in Sunset Boulevard when Norma guns down her beloved Joe or in Casablanca where we see a few shootouts, all with minimal blood or gore. In Citizen Kane and Rear Window, the subtlest sexual innuendos are felt. Miss torso with a shot of her topless from behind has been the most sexual image we’ve seen. In Bonnie and Clyde, we open the move with a topless Bonnie from the head down. The minute I saw that, I knew this movie was going to be different.
The movie focuses on the love between the couple, and their bank robbing spree them and their gang go on. The blood that is spilled on their journey is vibrant. Every gunshot that hits a person spills blood in a unique, unbefore seen way. There’s blood splatter on windows, a gushing headshot, and a gruesome massacre via submachine guns that LITTERS the couple with bullets. The blood itself isn’t the only factor that impressed me, but the way their bodies reacted to said violence. Buck, Clyde’s brother, eventually died from his wound, and the camera zooms in to his hand twitching the same way a bug’s does when we kill it. Another example comes from the final moments of the movie when Bonnie and Clyde’s bodies convulse in ways that disturb the viewer.
A main plot point is Clyde’s anxiety about having sex with Bonnie. He claims “I’m not a lover” multiple times and refuses Bonnie’s advances. This is a huge turn from what we’ve seen so far. Not only is sex heavily implied on screen, but it shows the main male protagonists vulnerability. Clyde isn’t the typical cold hearted criminal; he is sensitive and has feelings. Bonnie gets annoyed by this and blows up on Clyde, where Clyde reacts like a sad puppy. This is a total role reversal in terms of the typical relationship between a man and woman in love at the time.
Penn uses the viewer’s expectations to subvert them, both in his depiction of the topics stated above, and through his filming. The POV cuts that show Clyde’s view of looking around the bank, and the different action scenes shot from different angles were definitely different, but one scene comes to mind that stood out. A picnic takes place with the gang and Bonnie’s family. Bonnie has been dying to see her mother and if finally happens here, and Bonnie learns how much her and her mother have drifted. The scene is shot in some sort of distortion that led me to believe it was some sort of flashback or dream, but it was happening in real time in the film. What Penn’s intention was will take another watch for me to determine. The movie definitely seems to be a part of a “New Wave” of Hollywood at the time.
Urdaz Film Blog 