Bonnie and Clyde (2013)
*** (out of 4)
The life, times and eventual brutal death of Clyde Barrow (Emile Hirsch) and Bonnie Parker (Holliday Grainger) is the focus of this three-hour movie that shows their rise to fame. The latest telling of the Bonnie and Clyde story is a pretty good movie but at the same time you've got to feel that it was a wasted opportunity because so much more could have been done. Again, if you're a film buff or a fan of history then you're going to enjoy this re-enactment but at the same time there were a few important things left out. One being showing the poor state that the country was in while all of this was going on. There really wasn't enough detail to this and I'd also say that the reporter character really didn't serve any purpose. If they were going to use her as much as they did then they might have well told the entire story from her point of view. With that said, there's still plenty going on here that makes it worth sitting through. For starters, the two leads are both very good in their roles as you have no problem believing them as the characters. This here is especially true for Grainger who turns in an excellent performance because there were so many different emotions to Parker yet she captures all of them perfectly and especially towards the end when she starts to "want" the fame more than anything else. William Hurt also turns in a good performance as Frank Hamer and Holly Hunter is also good in the role of Parker's mother. The cinematography is top-notch from start to finish and I also thought they captured the look of the era quite well. The newsreel footage scattered throughout the film was also a nice touch. While this film is very good it's certainly no match for the 1967 film, which remains the greatest version of this story.
*** (out of 4)
The life, times and eventual brutal death of Clyde Barrow (Emile Hirsch) and Bonnie Parker (Holliday Grainger) is the focus of this three-hour movie that shows their rise to fame. The latest telling of the Bonnie and Clyde story is a pretty good movie but at the same time you've got to feel that it was a wasted opportunity because so much more could have been done. Again, if you're a film buff or a fan of history then you're going to enjoy this re-enactment but at the same time there were a few important things left out. One being showing the poor state that the country was in while all of this was going on. There really wasn't enough detail to this and I'd also say that the reporter character really didn't serve any purpose. If they were going to use her as much as they did then they might have well told the entire story from her point of view. With that said, there's still plenty going on here that makes it worth sitting through. For starters, the two leads are both very good in their roles as you have no problem believing them as the characters. This here is especially true for Grainger who turns in an excellent performance because there were so many different emotions to Parker yet she captures all of them perfectly and especially towards the end when she starts to "want" the fame more than anything else. William Hurt also turns in a good performance as Frank Hamer and Holly Hunter is also good in the role of Parker's mother. The cinematography is top-notch from start to finish and I also thought they captured the look of the era quite well. The newsreel footage scattered throughout the film was also a nice touch. While this film is very good it's certainly no match for the 1967 film, which remains the greatest version of this story.