Bonnie and Clyde
Arthur Penn directed the film, in 1967, that would begin the era of the Hollywood Renaissance. Films up until this point, especially in the 1950’s, had been very careful with their content and storylines and tended to depict the “typical life” stories revolving around families, relationships, and dramas. Musical movies were standard, and plot lines differed minimally. There were some horror films at this time, but they were limited in how graphic they could be and tended to be dystopian and revolving ideas that were propaganda.
Bonnie and Clyde was a film that took some of these more typical themes - romance and drama - and added on to them by centering the plot around crime and action.
I think what makes this movie seminal first and foremost is simply the gamble the director and creators took by presenting things that were not as common or as considered acceptable in earlier Hollywood works, such as strong violence, anarchism, and sexuality. It was, in a way, a premiere of such topics, and it was a test to the American audience on whether or not they were able to handle darker themes, and if they would appreciate them. By doing so, and with the grand response the film received, they opened up not only a new take on the genre of crime and drama but a promise that this would be the next step towards repaving the lost path of American cinema at this time. American audiences were tired of seeing the same kinds of pictures, delicately showing the comfort and pristine lives of common folk, showing only the less risky parts of life, ones that, for better or for worse, would not stir audiences into talking and criticizing them. Movie production was facing a downfall due to the lack of audience attendance and appraisal. The film itself utilizes not the glamor of Hollywood, but the environment that we would see in classic Western films; most of the film's backdrop is out in the sticks but with characters that juxtapose this: their goals are to go against the government and authority, and see just how far they can go in a lifestyle of crime and stealing. It revolves around a couple who are anarchists, and do not adhere to societal norms and policies - they divulge in robbing banks, taking place during the time of the Great Depression, aptly suiting their causes - they wanted to fight against what they believed was a poverty caused by wealth and authority. The film resembles change, which was wildly intriguing to the audiences of the time. A realistic yet somewhat whimsical and romanticized depiction of being free from the rules we must follow.
That being said, the abrupt ending to the film is just as realistic and was carefully created to appease both critics and lovers of this depiction of outlaws. It does not end in a Happily Ever After, which was a smart decision because it secures the creators from the possibility of being criticized as accepting and promoting such reckless and wrongful behavior and giving the realistic truth that this sort of lifestyle, as glamorous and thrilling as it may seem, can only last for so long. It has a time stamp, and both the audience and the characters appear to realize that they would not be able to continue the way they were living forever; they could not make it out alive, after the casualties and havoc they caused. And yet, they appear as fearless, and brave, because they accept their fate and continue to try to help those in need and take from the rich. They do not back down and are loyal to each other and their lifestyles. The scene written before the last, final one, is them discussing a fictitious life in which they could start over, and the characters seem to almost have a premonition by having this conversation, that their time is coming to a close, as they reflect and wonder if the safer route would have been easier. The following day, they have a near miss with the police, and it instantly has the audience in anticipation. Just after their near escape, they are ambushed, and what makes this ending so hyperrealistic, is the quickness of it. It all happens so fast, and in a highly un-Hollywood style, there are no last words, no final lines to impact the audience - it is entirely a visual impact. The last looks, so quick, if you blinked you would miss it, show not fear in the couples' eyes, but understanding and love.
You can see Beatty’s face perfectly express realization and fear of what is to come, and trying desperately to express an apology to the character Bonnie, for the trouble he feels he got her into.
Dunnaway’s face shows a look that at first could be seen as madness, as she is nearly smiling. At second glance, you realize she is trying to convey that she is not sorry for where they ended up because she knew what their ending would look like, and that it was here. She has an unapolagettic stare at him, just glad the last person she sees is him.
Here we can see Beatty’s face change into a look of love.
He seems almost glad to be going this way, knowing that he gets to see her as his last sight.
Finally, we see tears in her eyes.
Dunnaway portrays her character not to look frightened, but sad to go. She has finally committed to their outcome, to the realization that they are about to die. Her lips go from a smile into a look of shock.
The morning doves flying rapidly instants before the shooting is a beautiful metaphor.
The director used a natural element to convey the foreboding truth, the way the two of them, like the birds, already are leaving their bodies when they have the moment of realization. Their time is up, their life has already taken flight, and because of this, they are free.
The birds’ flight, the change from the handheld, shaky camera using a 9.8 mm F/1.8 Kinoptik lens, depicting flash shots of their faces to the stable shot of the two of them being killed from their car to the wide 400mm lens, is a perfect example of Penn as an Auteur. What makes this scene brilliant are the directorial choices, that make it painfully real and frightening.
An instant later, the characters’ lives are over, and as the audience realizes the end is here, and that there was a traitor in their paths, it can't help but sympathize for the lost characters. The final shot was not of their bodies, but of the authority, and what is so striking, is that even though they have achieved in finishing off the outlaws, and have won this battle, they seem to have not just guilt, but some remorse, some sympathy in their eyes, that will be reflected in every audience members' eyes, no matter how much they might disagree with the characters' decisions. This film won every heart over, by showing both the good and the bad in everyone.