Bonnie and Clyde

Two charming outlaws rebel against society in this groundbreaking classic that redefined the anti-hero.

Bonnie & Clyde tells the story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, a couple who go on a crime spree across the American South during the Great Depression. Played by Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, Bonnie and Clyde are presented as complex anti-heroes – charming, rebellious, and innocent, yet increasingly violent. The film romanticises them as outsiders challenging societal norms, a style influenced by the French New Wave's impact on Penn’s direction.

Rather than focusing on their crimes, the film explores their personal alienation and existential desires. Bonnie & Clyde breaks away from Hollywood conventions by avoiding clear moral judgments, offering a more nuanced take on their rebellion. It reshaped American cinema by portraying anti-heroes as sympathetic, multi-dimensional characters individuals who defy conventional morality, setting the stage for a new era of anti-heroic protagonists.

– Professor Angela Ndalianis, Professor Emeritus, Centre for Transformative Media Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology