Director: Norman Jewison
Writer: Alan Trustman (Screenplay)
Starring: Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Paul Burke, Jack Weston, Biff McGuire, Addison Powell, Astrid Heeren
Plot: A debonair, adventuresome bank executive believes he has pulled off the perfect multi-million dollar heist, only to match wits with a sexy insurance investigator who will do anything to get her man.
Tagline – McQueen, together with this “Bonnie and Clyde” Gal…and the slickest gang that ever robbed a bank!
Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Classic Heist
Story: The Thomas Crown Affair starts as Thomas Crown (McQueen) pulls off a daring robbery with his selected team which sees him team walk away with millions of dollars, which he will hand out slowly to cover up any unusual additions to bank accounts. The banks turn to insurance investigator Vicki Anderson (Dunaway) to search for answers and it isn’t long before her attention turns to Thomas himself.
Vicki will push the limits of the legal side of her job to get to the truth even if that means she clashes with her employer Eddy Malone (Burke) and the deeper she dives into the case, the more she learns about Thomas and his desires in the criminal world.
Thoughts on The Thomas Crown Affair
Characters – Thomas Crown in the businessman that always knows how to get the best deal, isn’t afraid to splash his cash and he also enjoys a good heist, with his latest one giving him even more money to spend, he knows how the build a team that will get the job done without needing to let them know who he is, only this time he might have met his match. Vicki Anderson is a sexy insurance investigator who is assigned to help get to the bottom of this latest robbery, she starts to investigate Thomas and learns more about him, but never enough to prove he was the mastermind behind the robbery. The two do clash on what they feel is right and will go to any lengths to try and stay ahead of each other. Eddy Malone is the man that hires Vicki to help get the money his company had to pay out to the bank for insurance, he wants things done clean.
Performances – Steve McQueen does have all the swagger to make this rick criminal come to life effortlessly through the film, while Faye Dunaway brings her character to life, playing into her strengths to get the truth. The rest of the cast are great through the film, letting the leads take full control.
Story – The story here follows a slick businessman that enjoys committing robberies on the side, he has been doing it for years and now he will meet his match trying to catch him. This is a new spin on the heist genre because instead of being just a criminal wanting to complete his latest job, this turns somebody who never needs to commit the robbery into a man that believes he can get it done. There are elements of the cat-n-mouse between the two which is entertaining to watch, while we do focus more on the aftermath of the crime, rather than the actual crime itself, which is also different because we spend too much time watching the preparation of a crime.
Crime/Romance – The crime side of the film does show how one man believes he can get away with the perfect robbery and does fall in love with the woman that is sent to try and capture him.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show the high rolling life Thomas has been living both before and after the robbery, making it hard to pinpoint him as the mastermind.
Scene of the Movie – The robbery.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does seem to easy for them to fall in love.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun heist film that does take us into a new direction that we don’t normally see, with some wonderful leading performances.
Overall: Heist film with a twist.
