by David Macdonald STAFF WRITER

Bonnie and Clyde (1967) was one of the

most famous, and ground breaking films in cinematic history. This was the retelling of the infamous De- pression-era bank robbers who became folk heroes, contain- ing classic perform- ances from Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, as well as one of the most contro- versial endings ever in film.

The film certainly gives an air of romanti- cism, at least at first, with its portrayal of the two people. Bonnie is persuaded by both Clyde’s charm and his threatening aura. She has the sort of person- ality which easily falls for Clyde’s comment that she is the best girl in the state, and in no time flat she is swept into the risky business of bank-robbing. Along the way, they pick up a

young gas station attendant named Moss, and later, Clyde‘s brother (Gene

Hackman) and sister- in-law are part of the bunch.

A combination of Bonnie and Clyde‘s rebellious youth, and their numerous run-ins with the law ensure their notoriety in a time in which people were in need of some- thing to free their minds of the miseries of poverty and hard- ship. Yet all good things must come to end, and they do here, as well, — and most violently.

One major theme in the movie is the idea of celebrity. As Bonnie and Clyde make their way across America, everyone wants to be part of the story, to say that they saw (or in some cases were robbed by) Bonnie and Clyde, celebrity criminals. The newspapers in the country saw fit to fabricate the number of robberies commit- ted in order to sell more papers and to perpetuate the mys- tique.

The movie makes the claim that these criminals were not out o harm the common folk, and in fact there is one scene in a bank in which Clyde kindly

iews: Bonnie and Clyde

tells an elderly cus- tomer that he is not out to take his money away. This anti-authoriatian attitude certainly didn‘t harm the heroic image they had acquried.

I certainly did not find these characters endearing. For me they seemed more like white trash than radical socialists; foolish kids more than heroes. But that tension between what they really are, and what people (those following their story,

_ the criminal gang itself,

and even the film’s audience) want them to be is strong stuff, especially as it soon becomes clear it will not be a happy ending. The actual rela- tionship of Bonnie and Clyde is also interest- ing. Warren Beatty, in playing this character, has a little joke on himself and his notori- ous womanizing image, when Clyde tells Bonnie clumsily that “I ain tno loverboy.” While this may seem to be modesty on his part, it is later clear there is more to it. Clyde suffers from impo- tence, as all his ener- gies are focussed on crime. Bonnie, on the other hand, is the sexual aggressor, equally comfortable in

her own body, and in handling a gun. (The parallels between sex and violence are fairly clear.) Faye Dunaway successfully plays the character for her toughness, and, later on, for her fear that her fantastical lifestyle will start crumbling down on her.

The infamous ending is no doubt known to many, ina bloody, utterly final shootout which broke taboos for both vio- lence and grim endings.

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Despite the more bloodly (and senseless) violence in current films, those situations could never match up

to the ending of this film, as it is so final, so. cold, so wrenching, that it will stick to you for at least a few minites. Basically, a number of thoughts should come to your head — Do they deserve punish- ment? Should the audience have been rooting for these char-

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