Films in Society

Essay #2

When you think of the movie Bonnie and Clyde it always make people think back to a time when things were hard for everyone. The original film took place during the great depression, well what would make for a better remake of this film but to remake it during the time of 2007 when the U.S. was in the mist of another recession. How would todays Bonnie and Clyde look, act, and perform their daring robbers? Let’s start with casting the modern day Bonnie and Clyde cast:
Matt Damon as Clyde Barrow
Jordana Brewster as Bonnie Parker
Alexander Skarsgård as C.W. Moss
Eric Bana as Buck Barrow
Liv Tyler as Blanche Barrow
Denzel Washington as Frank Hamer
Rob Lowe as Ivan Moss
Since this is a modern day movie compared to its original, the wardrobe/costumes that the characters will wear will have to take on today’s styles. For instance, Clyde wore suits in the original as in the remake version, Clyde would be dressed in that tough guy image, maybe jeans or leather pants with t-shirts. He would also have a lot of tattoos on his arms. In the original Bonnie came off as a very beautiful woman, as in the remake she is still very stunning, but instead of dresses she would be wearing maybe some mini-skirts or shorts with low cut shirts. So when you look at the changes in the styles of the original to this remake there would have to be a lot of changes to appease the audience of today’s movie goers. By changing the costumers/wardrobe to a modern day look, you will be able to also tie in the movie with the timeframe the movie will be presenting to the audience.
Not only were the wardrobe changes to the film going to be an issue, but also the sitting to each scene. In this remake I would have to change to cars that they drove from the first. Of course Clyde would be driving the latest and fastest car out there, maybe a Chevrolet Corvette. This would be the standard to other cars used in the movie. In the car chases in the remake there would be exciting crashes just like the first one, only these would be taken place on major highways throughout the Midwest of the U.S.
I think to change up from the first movie; I would have Bonnie be the original bad girl that comes across Clyde in a small town in Minnesota. Together from there the adventures would begin. Maybe another change would the role of Frank Hamer, he would be a Minnesota State Patrol officer who the gang would still capture and humiliate by taken photos and posting all over the internet. This would also be one way that the movie is showing use of modern day technologies. This would be another area of the remake that changes it form the first version. By showing the use of latest technologies, you bring a modern look to this version.
Some of the changes to remake this movie in a modern day would also have to be done to each character. I touch on the key characters and now I want to touch on the rest. Clyde’s brother Buck and wife Blanche characters would be portrayed as the “all American” couple but deep down lacked the excitement that they are about to embark on with Bonnie and Clyde. Maybe something would come out about how deep down Blanche really had feeling for Clyde, but was always afraid to show them or tell anyone. Then there’s C.W. Moss a small gas station/store worker that the gang befriends early in their adventure. He has always wanted just to get out of that small Minnesota town and do something different. He also would be portrayed as a guy with a very short fuse when it comes to trouble. The type of guy that would shoot first then asks the questions. Then in the end at Ivan Moss’s cabin in northern Minnesota where the gang is hiding out at, Ivan doesn’t agree with what his son is up to and turns them in to the local police, which bring in the FBI to arrest the gang.
In remaking the Bonnie and Clyde movie to a modern day audience, it was changeling to the fact that truthfully there have been films made to this nature, just not called Bonnie and Clyde. When casting the actors and actresses for the characters you really have to go get the names that will sell the movie. Audiences want to see big name actors and actresses in films, but at the same time an unknown individual can sure help your film to make a name for them and yourself as the director. This was a fun project to do; it took a lot of thought and research to find the right actors and actresses to put in it. At the same time it also took thought from what I have learned to this point about making movies and what makes a movie great.