In 1967 the film ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ was released. It was a movie that would go on to polarize public opinion and those of eminent film critics. It was also most probably the spark that lit the career of Pauline Kael, and simultaneously managed to extinguish the career of critic Bosley Crowther. Part of the reason the film garnered such a reaction was due to the political and social turmoil of the time, but also due to the film’s ability to confuse our senses whilst drawing the audience in to a mental place they would rather not reside.
One of the ways this was achieved was through the inclusion of C.W. Moss played by Michael J. Pollard. We first meet this character when Bonnie and Clyde pull into a desolate gas station. He’s impressed by the nice car, the clothes, and their general attitude which is far removed from his own life of pumping gas. When he finds out that he’s talking to the infamous Bonnie and Clyde he is immediately in awe of their status. He seems to be a simple character, but it’s as if his personality has yet to be shaped by the events that will later occur. This is like an audience settling down to their first viewing of the film. We also have certain expectations because of our sometimes vague knowledge of Bonnie and Clyde, but our reactions will change as we learn more about the two heroes. Just like C.W. appears to ponder his role, the audience is also impressed by the bank robbing duo. There is a whiff of danger in their rebellious natures, and when that's mixed with the fancy clothes and the exotic looking cars it's easy to be intoxicated by this perfume of glamor. Due to the style of the film we feel it is going to be a light, easy, comedy and we don’t consider the consequences of Bonnie and Clyde’s actions. Just like C.W who seems to not pause for even a second to consider what life would be like on the run with the these two wanted felons.
This drastically alters when the first major shooting takes place. The innocent banker clinging onto Bonnie and Clyde’s getaway car driven by C.W. is brutally shot in the face. At this point the laughter dies with the banker. This is C.W.’s and our initial glimpse of the consequences of their actions. It’s shot as a close up and it suddenly tarnishes our amused expressions at the bungled escape. This is the first occurrence of when we see a negative reaction from C.W. He made a mistake in parking the car too far from the bank and in a way he is responsible for the man’s death. C.W. sits in the cinema with tears running down his face as he tries to understand this. Because of our involvement in the movie so far and our eagerness to see Bonnie and Clyde rob more banks we also feel complicit in the man’s death. Perhaps like C.W., who is now sitting in the picture house, we start to wonder that perhaps we would rather be watching a much lighter story. A film that doesn't cause us to question our own fascination for darker characters, or a film that doesn't lead us down one path and then trip us up.
Towards the end of the film when Bonnie and Clyde are hiding out at the home of C.W. Moss we see conflict between C.W. and his father. The father represents authority whilst C.W. represents the audience. C.W., and of course the audience, want to believe that Bonnie and Clyde can escape from anything and that the police will never be able to contain them. Even though history has provided us with the conclusion of the story, we, like C.W., are still urging them on. In the final ten minutes of the film C.W. is no longer with Bonnie and Clyde as he is inside a hardware store. He views them getting in a car through the window and the blinds of the store. He has now become the audience himself and is viewing his friends in the same way we are. That is with a sense of distance because we know we can never live a life like them, yet there is still a sense of yearning. When they pull away from the small town C.W. thinks they have yet again escaped the police. A grin spreads across his face and while we are also relieved for a second, it is not long before we are abruptly reminded of their fateful end.
When head of Warner Brothers studio, Jack Warner, was handed the screenplay he said, “Who wants to see the rise and fall of a couple of rats” (Biskind 30). Time clearly proved him wrong and the clue was already in the script. C.W. wanted to watch because he needed to be a part of the Burrow gang, and that’s what an audience also wants, whether they like that fact or not. C.W. is a representation of the public because there’s a bit of C.W. in all of us.
