Outlaws on the Run

The infamous outlaw duo Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow gained the status of celebrity criminals in the time period of the great depression. In the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde, director Arthur Penn immortalizes the notorious criminals and initiates a new period of American cinema as he diverts from the conventional production code. Besides the explicit depiction of violence and sexuality, which stands in strong contrast to previous movies, his change of style is revealed by the implementation of cinematic means prevalent in the French New Wave cinema.

Bonnie and Clyde retells the bloody tale of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. As part of the Barrows Gang, they killed numerous policemen and robbed various banks, gas stations and small stores between 1931 and 1934. Their celebrity status was further fueled through the publication of Bonnie’s poems in several news papers. Their rampage ended May 24, 1934, when the couple was ambushed by the police and shot without warning. A combined total of approximately 130 rounds hit their car, leading to the two outlaws’ instant death. Penn’s version of the story changed certain aspects but the main facts are in accordance with the historical events.

According to the production code, which was introduced in 1930 and abandoned in 1968, motion pictures had to abide by a series of rules, including the prohibition of nakedness, passion, vulgarity, illegal drug use, miscegenation etc. Obviously, Bonnie and Clyde violates the code in various aspects, primarily the portrayal of sexuality and violence. The movie begins with an extreme close-up on Bonnie’s lips, resembling the opening scene of Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958) , and shows here naked back as she gets dressed for almost two minutes. Numerous depictions of explicit or suggestive sexuality follow, e.g. when Bonnie gently strokes Clyde’s revolver or during their bedroom scenes. The portrayal of violence is a clear violation of the code as well. The murder of numerous policemen is shown an utterly graphic manner and so is the couple’s assassination.

In terms of cinematic means, the movie stands in strong contrast to preceding works of American cinema as well. Several techniques show a strong resemblance to methods introduced by Truffaut and Godard. The titles section, for example, lacks any kind of musical soundtrack. Instead, the audience hears a mere clicking sound with every new name on the movie screen. The character introduction is quite unorthodox as well: a brief written intro and a photograph sets introduce the two main characters. The movie’s final scene is equally unusual. In contrast to typical Hollywood movies of the 1960s, the climax is not followed by a relieving end scene. Instead, the movie ends abruptly after the couple’s assassination with no further comment. Sudden cuts, choppy editing, and experimental sound effects of this kind can be found in many of Godard’s movies. Also, numerous shots resemble Truffaut’s cinematic style, e.g. the first meeting of Bonnie and Clyde: an extremely long shot in which the camera follows them on a stroll appears to resemble the running scene in 400 Blows (1959). Apparently, the movie was even offered to Truffaut. Although he passed on the project, he still contributed to the final script, explaining the strong French influence.

In her essay on the new cinema of the 60s, Pauline Kael lists Bonnie and Clyde as part of a series of movies that are all “pretty good trash” but far from actual pieces of art. I was quite surprised that Kael even discards 2001 (1968), a movie that struck me as a rather exceptional product of creative movie-making, as “the biggest amateur movie of them all.” Certainly, most American productions of the era lack the experimental qualities of French and Italian productions. Yet, numerous movies of the time appeared to me as utterly creative, also because influences from European cinema were integrated. In Bonnie and Clyde, the French influence is undeniable.

In the end, I enjoyed watching Bonnie and Clyde not only due to its unconventional style for an American production but also because of the actors’ compelling performance. The movie clearly set new standards in terms of violating the production code and braking apart from the conventional Hollywood style. Certainly, specific aspects of the movie could be called quite trashy, e.g. the exploitation of violence and sex. However, the incorporation of such extremities merely constitutes one facet of braking away from the norm. It seems as if director Penn intended to create a movie just as rebellious as its two protagonists.