Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

 Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde"


Many film scholars and historians consider Arthur Penn's 1967 film "Bonnie and Clyde" to be one of the first films of the New Hollywood era. It was one of the film that shed the more conservative traditions of Hollywood in favor of more rebellious and counterculture cinematic taboos. It use of criminal sympathy and upfront depictions of sex and violence promoted other films to do the same - ushering in the 1970s.

The film takes place during the Great Depression, which seemingly justifies the attitudes of our protagonists' criminal spree. After Clyde meets Bonnie in a small Texas town, their attraction is immediate - and so is their unlawful behavior. After spending the majority of the film building their posse and robbing various banks, the pair of anti-heroes and facing imminent capture and possible death.

"Bonnie and Clyde" set itself apart from standard Hollywood affairs for many reasons. One of those reasons was its sympathetic depiction of its central violent and criminal characters. Their actions are not condoned in a typical film of the era. Yet, in this film, the characters are treated as more justified in their "villainous" ways. 

The reason for their behavior appears to be a natural reaction to the downfall of the economic structures (the Great Depression). The banks start upending people from their property, seizing their assets, and shutting down their local businesses. So, when Bonnie and Clyde begin to steal from said banks, they are met with sympathy from the local populace. As a byproduct, the film treats these sympathies as reasonable and elicits the viewer to think the same.

Another reason for the film's separation from the contemporary American pictures is its influence from the European New Wave market. Its rapid shifts in tone, choppy (and noticeable) editing, and its depiction of violence as something 'off-hand.' Writers David Newman and Robert Benton even attempted to get Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard to direct the film before settling on American Arthur Penn.

The dramatic shift in perspective and film language "Bonnie and Clyde" takes caused reason to believe that the film would flop in the American market. On the contrary, it was a sleeper hit. On top of that, the film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning two (Best Supporting Actress and Best Cinematography). The warm reception for a film so celebratory of rebellion and violence caused what many to believe an opening of the floodgates for more darker and brutal films. Thus, the New Hollywood era took effect. 







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