University of Virginia Library

Functional Script

Calder Willingham's script is
functional, which is not to demean
its importance in the film. The
script functions well for the
director, in that it covers material
that Penn has dealt with before and
makes it seem fresh and new, while
opening other areas for the
director's craft to work upon. The
film was shot by Larry Stradling in
a manner that makes the scenery
look real, yet somehow unnatural.
There is a curious quality captured
in each frame, a quality which
resembles a fusion of a museum
diorama and a dream-vision. Editor
Dede Allen has quite an
achievement in the first hour of the
film, but the remainder of the film
appears to be sluggish and heavy.
The passage of time is never evident
in the first half of the film, whereas
the last part of the film seems
obsessively conscious of time.

Arthur Penn's direction is... (is a
case study of a masterpiece that
didn't turn out as great as it should
have? Or is it an example of an epic
style? Or am I and others so totally
wrapped up with the "auteur"
theory that "direction" now means
"theme," or message?

* * *

Arthur Penn didn't attract much
attention until 1967 when "Bonnie
and Clyde" was panned by Time
magazine one week, then given
cover treatment two weeks later. It
was around this time that I recall a
surge of American journals claiming
movies were art. (Now there are
"film" critics and "movie" critics
according to John Simon — I
maintain our generation's strong
interest in "the film as art," or "the
cinema" would never have
developed to the current level of
acceptance if the press hadn't told
us movies were works of art.)

"Bonnie and Clyde" an
American tragedy of comedy and
violence. Two years later in 1969,
Penn directed "Alice's Restaurant"
which is perhaps his most complex
and demanding film. Both these
films lead to "Little Big Man," and
in places, their influence is felt in
whole scenes.

Faye Dunaway's mere presence
recalls "Bonnie and Clyde,"
although it would be stretching the
mind to find a justifiable similarity
between the two characters she
portrayed. The sexual curiosity
surrounding weapons and the
power of the gun are vividly
portrayed when Caroline teaches
Jack how to shoot and squeals with
ecstasy when he develops his skill.
The stagecoach hijacking is filmed,
edited and musically scored in a
manner which was used during the
hold-ups and getaways of "Bonnie
and Clyde."