Title: Bonnie and Clyde
Starring: Warren Beatty and Faye Dunnaway
Directed by: Arthur Penn
Year: 1967
Number on the AFI list: 42
Bonnie and Clyde begins with photos snapping on the screen, a jolting reminder each time to take in what you're looking at because it's about to be over...just like Bonnie and Clyde's life.
Fascinating how a movie about two criminals can leave audiences so heartbroken at the end. Bonnie and Clyde start their criminal journey confident and sadistic, robbing banks and grocery stores, mocking and killing anyone who would try to stop them, and picking up accomplices along the way. They take photos of their exploits and of each other as an added element of fun and games. Eventually their inevitable demise sets in, and they both have to make the choice to either turn themselves in or keep doing what they're doing; either way, their chosen path leads to death. Before the climactic ending, they begin to settle down...and it seems like they may actually be able to live a normal life. It doesn't last long, and their past finally catches up to them in the bloodiest finale to a film thus far in film history (at the time).
Warren Beatty is great as the charming, confident, yet paranoid Clyde, but Faye Dunnaway steals the show for me. Her struggles with wanting to be loved coupled with fear and regret is an amazing ride to watch. They both play their characters so sympathetically that I was rooting for them the whole time.
Favorite scene: When they see their families again after their crime spree has swept national headlines. Bonnie's desire to be loved and accepted by her mom is heartbreaking.
Will I watch it again: I enjoyed it, but probably not.
