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Kael, Pauline. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. New York: Bantom Books, 1968
Pauline Kael’s review of Bonnie and Clyde in The New Yorker represented every critic that believed that the movie achieved greatness. In stark contrast with the opinions of Bosley Crowther, Kael admired Bonnie and Clyde for the mentality it portrayed and the style it functioned with. She admits that the movie doesn’t present anything new in its narrative, being a direct descendent of the French New Wave films such as Breathless, but that its success comes from its capturing of youth society.
Pauline Kael article not only represented the positive side of the debate surrounding Bonnie and Clyde, but was her most famous essay and catapulted her to journalistic relevance. Indeed, Kael made her entire career, and quite a good one at that, by covering Bonnie and Clyde. Her original positive review is what established her as the critical face of the film, but she continued to write about and defend the film for years to come, developing a relationship with both Beatty and the writers of the film, Benton and Newman.
Her review was the exact opposite of Crowther’s, extolling the virtues of youth rebellion as part of her generation. The two critics dueled over the subject of the film, which eventually led to the rise of her career and the demise of Crowther’s. The effect of the move can be seen simply by the success of the critics that covered it. Kael, representing the positive, acceptance of the film and all it represented became a prominent film critic. While Crowter rejected it and the youth counterculture it represented and was subsequently removed as the head of the New York Times film review section.
Pauline Kael article not only represented the positive side of the debate surrounding Bonnie and Clyde, but was her most famous essay and catapulted her to journalistic relevance. Indeed, Kael made her entire career, and quite a good one at that, by covering Bonnie and Clyde. Her original positive review is what established her as the critical face of the film, but she continued to write about and defend the film for years to come, developing a relationship with both Beatty and the writers of the film, Benton and Newman.
Her review was the exact opposite of Crowther’s, extolling the virtues of youth rebellion as part of her generation. The two critics dueled over the subject of the film, which eventually led to the rise of her career and the demise of Crowther’s. The effect of the move can be seen simply by the success of the critics that covered it. Kael, representing the positive, acceptance of the film and all it represented became a prominent film critic. While Crowter rejected it and the youth counterculture it represented and was subsequently removed as the head of the New York Times film review section.