Bonnie and Clyde - Notes

Character development makes this a great film. Not the violence, which is pretty damn good. Not that B&C personify the anti-establishment, iconoclasm that was and is the zeitgeist for our times. No! Unlike Public Enemies, like in American Gangster and Heat, this gangster film grabs the audience by creating great characters.

Examples:

BONNIE
What was it like?

CLYDE
Prison?

BONNIE
No, armed robbery.

That's great dialog that reveals great character. Bonnie's attracted to violence, to the point of sociopathy; while Clyde emotes over a man he's killed, Bonnie sings "We're in the Money" and admires herself in the mirror. Bonnie is afraid of death. When Eugene says, "I'm an undertaker," Bonnie says "Get rid of them."

CLYDE:
He's violent but, in contrast to Bonnie, has a conscience. He has a sixth sense; understands Bonnie and CW almost to the point of demagoguery.

And, the sexual relationship, with all it's ups and downs, is a key subplot.

Bottom line: great characters are important in ANY genre. Don't sell your character development short. Create great scenes to reveal character, contrast character and make the internal external.