Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

One morning Bonnie Parker, played by Faye Dunaway, catches Warren Beatty's Clyde Barrow trying to steal her family's car. The way they play it, you'd think this was a daily occurrence. It's not though, and Bonnie's spur-of-the-moment decision to run around with Clyde for the day turns into a lifestyle.

A hitch in the flow of this free-wheeling film is the score - and sometime lack of it. There are moments where it feels like something is missing and that's when you'll notice the silence. The music that does exist, often feels (for lack of a better term) a bit too hillbilly - even for a film set in the south. The resulting corniness makes you expect those sequences to be played in double time for added comedic effect in an otherwise serious story.

Dunaway's Bonnie is a desperate escapist who doesn't shirk from the idea of becoming a criminal. In fact, no one in the Barrow gang seems to even think twice about it, even though half of them are sucked in at the spur of the moment. This is perhaps the most intriguing element of the film. Even Clyde's incredibly annoying banshee of a sister-in-law never actively finds a means of escaping the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride of an adventure even though she clearly doesn't enjoy it.

This is the first film to portray a shooter and a person getting shot in the same frame. The results are pretty gruesome especially in contrast to the rest of the movie. The juxtaposition of a whimsical couple having fun with the serious crimes, incidents, and injuries puts a harsh but needed perspective on a time where bank robbers were glamorized.

Rating:4/5
Recommended for: Anyone over the age of 12 who doesn't mind a little fun before being brought back down to Earth.

Extended review: The film's end shows how so many infamous criminals of that era met their end: being too cocky. Criminals like Bonnie and Clyde were treated like movie stars. They'd introduce themselves during their crimes, make visits to their families, and wave to people in the streets - never thinking that any of these people would dare turn them in. Mrs. Parker's warning that they better keep running is brushed off almost as a joke. To the audience, C.W.'s father's arrangement with the police is understandable. But the Barrow gang doesn't think of it even as a possibility. The sudden demise of Bonnie and Clyde brings their reign and the film to an abrupt end. The audience is left alone with their thoughts; you feel bad for them because they never saw it coming, yet you're reminded that they these two were the bad guys in the first place. It's an interesting balance.