Two films released in 1967 saw the roaring start of a movement in filmmaking known as the New Hollywood. These films were the previously discussed The Graduate from Mike Nichols and Arthur Penn’s crime story of a couple on the run, Bonnie and Clyde. Based on the true story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, we see Bonnie fall for Clyde and leave her life behind in smalltown America of the 1930s. Kept company by Clyde’s brother, Buck, his nervous wife, Blanche, and a peculiar mechanic they meet along the way. The group sets out to rob every bank they encounter and evade the law as long as possible. Controversial upon release for a more realistic depiction of violence compared to crime films that came before it, Penn’s film remains a quintessential benchmark of the crime genre. 

While Penn’s film deals with many interesting topics and themes, perhaps none more so than Clyde’s representation of masculinity and his apparent impotence. This is something the viewer is acutely aware of from minutes into the film as Clyde immediately avoids intimacy with Bonnie noting that he’s not a “lover boy” but is also very quick to declare that he does not like boys and there’s “nothing wrong” with him. One might begin to wonder why he is immediately in denial of something he has not been accused of.  Does he feel emasculated by Bonnie and is thus why he cannot perform sexually for the majority of the film? It’s clear he’s surprised early on by how quickly Bonnie takes to this lifestyle. Perhaps he was expecting a meek woman who would need his protection? That is certainly not the case with Bonnie Parker, played magnificently by Faye Dunaway. Dunaway presents Bonnie as tough and as someone who has no qualms about asserting her dominance when required, most notably seen in her quarrels with Blanche. In several instances Bonnie attempts to make a move on Clyde, only to be disappointed by his inability to perform sexually. Although he’s successful later in the film, his apparent stage fright in this arena is worth noting how the film depicts masculinity. 

The film’s presentation of characters rebelling against the system can be compared to the new era of filmmaking which was emerging. Bonnie, Clyde and co could be seen as the young new directors, not adhering to the classical Hollywood system that had been in place for decades while the law could be seen as the directors who were part of this now archaic system attempting to stop the new generation from capitalising on their opportunities. The criminals are the characters the audience are supposed to side with in this film, not something typical of films of the previous system. Audiences were supposed to side with the lawful characters, the police, the detectives and the heroes of the story and not the lawbreakers. This centering of the anti-hero was one of the many changes this new group of filmmakers brought to shake up the film industry. Gone were the days of churning out films as if on a conveyor belt. The young new Hollywood set out to change things by rebelling against the system in place, just as Bonnie and Clyde do. 

The violence depicted in the film is more graphic than other films of the time. This is noticeable during some of the deaths shown on screen, which are far bloodier than the standard of the time. This could be seen as a representation of how violent American society had become at the time, between the Vietnam war, mass murderers and the riots of the 1960s. It perfectly captures how ingrained violence had become in the everyday lives of Americans through what they were seeing/reading about in the news. Apart from Blanche, none of the main characters are particularly reactive to the violence, showing how it has almost become ingrained as a normal part of their lives. One of the most shocking uses of violence in the film is when a man is shot through a car window during one of the gang’s getaways. He’s shot through the eye with blood spurting from the wound. Prior to this film, that kind of violence on film was unthinkable but here it is presented in such a matter of fact way and without build up that the use of it becomes pertinent to the film’s message about how violent American society had become. 

Released in 1967 to a rapturous response, Bonnie and Clyde has become one of the hallmarks of the crime genre as well as the new Hollywood movement it helped to usher in. Filled with fantastic performances, including an Oscar winning turn from Estelle Parsons, and a searing commentary on masculinity and society. This is filmmaking at its most energetic and surprising.