Image credit: Bonnie and Clyde, 1967
Throughout February Cinema Sips will be featuring some of the great couples of movie history. To kick things off I’ll be starting with a classic. Though they often ran afoul of the law and experienced a bloody ending to their love story, the legend of Bonnie and Clyde (DVD/Download) is one that will live in infamy. I’m going to pretend that the Hilary Duff remake of this film never happened (*shudder*) and instead concentrate on the Warren Beatty/Faye Dunaway masterpiece.
Directed by Arthur Penn, Bonnie and Clyde shares a similar gritty look to his earlier collaboration with Beatty, Splendor in the Grass. The actor is fantastic in both, and as Clyde Barrow he’s equal parts seductive charmer, wholesome Southern boy, and deadly criminal. Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker totally rocks a beret, and she’s a perfect counterpart to Beatty. They may rob banks, but with these two doing it, robbing banks never looked so good.
Because Bonnie and Clyde viewed the laws of our country as mere suggestions, I’m making a classic and appropriately-named cocktail. While watching Bonnie and Clyde, I recommend drinking a Scofflaw.
Scofflaw
2 oz rye whiskey
1 oz dry vermouth
¾ oz lemon juice
¾ oz grenadine
2 dashes orange bitters.
Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass.
This film will always be remembered for the violent ending, but it’s also a gorgeous study of the dusty, Depression-era mid-west landscape. Bonnie and Clyde’s band of outlaws are mostly good people who happen to do very bad things, and perhaps that’s why the story is so riveting even today. Even though I know it’s impossible, I still root for Bonnie and Clyde to ride off into the sunset together. And of course, Bonnie would wear a fabulous hat. Cheers!
Cinema Sips 