Day 03: Bonnie and Clyde
When I started my movie mission it never occurred to me that I would stumble upon a classic that I didn’t like. I fear that may be the case with Bonnie and Clyde.
Like most people know (without seeing the film), the film chronicles the story of the famous real time bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde. But what most people don’t know is that the movie involves three other characters that complete the gang.
Bonnie and Clyde meet at the begging of the film. Bonnie, bored from her failed every day life, takes a liking to recently release from prison Clyde. He offers her an exciting life running from the law and Bonnie accepts without hesitation. Later on they recruit one of the stupidest characters I’ve meet, C.W. Moss. After that they join with Clyde’s brother Buck played by Gene Hackman, and his wife Blanche played by Estelle Parson.
Fist I’ll start with what I didn’t like and it comes in the form of Blanche. This is truly one of the most annoying characters I have ever seen. Every shooting scene I hoped she got left behind. But just as the car was getting away, there she would appear. I can’t believe Estelle Parson got an Oscar for this. I’ll probably get lots of heat for this, but I got to be honest.
What bothered me the most was the lack of Bonnie and Clyde in this movie. The chemistry between Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway was outstanding. Every scene between the two of them was what I most enjoyed from the film. I got tired of the other characters. I’m not saying they shouldn’t have any part in the film, but more Bonnie and Clyde moments would have been great.
I think the movie is so important because of Bonnie. There are some scenes involving sex and nudity that you can get a sense of how controversial they may have been for their time. But no matter close I come to understand it, I’ll never know its true impact at the time.
Throughout my movie mission I think this will be a common problem. Because I’m dealing with famous and classic movies, in some cases I’ll simply have too much hype. I like the film and there are certainly one or two scenes that I’ll always remember. But when I think of my classic movies I won’t think of Bonnie and Clyde.
