The Thomas Crown Affair - ***
Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) is a billionaire Manhattan playboy who has everything a man could desire - fame, fortune, success, even adventure. The adventure is supplied by Crown's risky leisure interests, which include sailing, gliding, and art theft. The movie opens with an elaborate heist of a priceless Monet from a heavily guarded gallery in New York. It is a long, complex, and wonderful sequence which keeps the audience guessing about its eventual outcome. Enter police detective Michael McCann (Denis Leary) and insurance investigator Catherine Banning (Rene Russo,) who join forces to recover the painting. McCann is quickly frustrated by Banning's tactics, which include approaching Crown and boldly announcing that he is the guilty party. What Banning understands, and McCann does not, is that Crown is basically a bored rich kid in search of a thrill. And what better thrill than to seduce an investigator who knows you are guilty, and will do anything to prove it?
If the plot sounds familiar, that's because it is. This story was originally told in the 1968 film of the same name, which starred Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway, directed by Norman Jewison. In that version, however, Thomas Crown was a bank robber. But more likely audiences will be reminded of Entrapment, a film which came out earlier this year starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It, too, featured a rich art thief and a beautiful insurance investigator who conducted an affair while simultaneously plotting against each other. Of the two recent films, The Thomas Crown Affair is the more effective one.
The success of this story depends entirely upon the chemistry between the leads. We must believe that they are truly attracted to each other. We do. After all, who would not be attracted to either Pierce Brosnan or Rene Russo? (And what a wonderful decision to cast the female role in the same age bracket as the leading man. Sadly, this is so rare as to be groundbreaking.) We must also believe that each party in the relationship is capable of swindling, even abandoning, the other. While the attraction between Crown and Banning is evident, both actors maintain enough detachment to make the viewer believe they could each lower the boom on the other at any moment. The relationship is like a chess game, where each participant has hidden agendas that play out in the background while the romance fills the foreground.
Unfortunately, the screenplay calls for the Russo character to lose her edge fairly early in the game. Previously a hard-bitten investigator, she eventually degenerates into a lovesick puppy. This softening of her character, coupled with the overly conventional ending that it generates, is the movie's greatest flaw. But along the way, the viewer is treated to a well-made film. The locations are picturesque, from Crown's palatial Manhattan office to his secluded Martinique retreat. And the impeccable wardrobe seems to have been provided primarily by Giorgio Armani. Finally, the movie ends with yet another astounding gallery heist even more daring and original than the first. Robberies aside, however, the thrill of this picture is in wondering which of the lover/competitors will win the game. The disappointment comes when we realize there will be a draw.
Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) is a billionaire Manhattan playboy who has everything a man could desire - fame, fortune, success, even adventure. The adventure is supplied by Crown's risky leisure interests, which include sailing, gliding, and art theft. The movie opens with an elaborate heist of a priceless Monet from a heavily guarded gallery in New York. It is a long, complex, and wonderful sequence which keeps the audience guessing about its eventual outcome. Enter police detective Michael McCann (Denis Leary) and insurance investigator Catherine Banning (Rene Russo,) who join forces to recover the painting. McCann is quickly frustrated by Banning's tactics, which include approaching Crown and boldly announcing that he is the guilty party. What Banning understands, and McCann does not, is that Crown is basically a bored rich kid in search of a thrill. And what better thrill than to seduce an investigator who knows you are guilty, and will do anything to prove it?
If the plot sounds familiar, that's because it is. This story was originally told in the 1968 film of the same name, which starred Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway, directed by Norman Jewison. In that version, however, Thomas Crown was a bank robber. But more likely audiences will be reminded of Entrapment, a film which came out earlier this year starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It, too, featured a rich art thief and a beautiful insurance investigator who conducted an affair while simultaneously plotting against each other. Of the two recent films, The Thomas Crown Affair is the more effective one.
The success of this story depends entirely upon the chemistry between the leads. We must believe that they are truly attracted to each other. We do. After all, who would not be attracted to either Pierce Brosnan or Rene Russo? (And what a wonderful decision to cast the female role in the same age bracket as the leading man. Sadly, this is so rare as to be groundbreaking.) We must also believe that each party in the relationship is capable of swindling, even abandoning, the other. While the attraction between Crown and Banning is evident, both actors maintain enough detachment to make the viewer believe they could each lower the boom on the other at any moment. The relationship is like a chess game, where each participant has hidden agendas that play out in the background while the romance fills the foreground.
Unfortunately, the screenplay calls for the Russo character to lose her edge fairly early in the game. Previously a hard-bitten investigator, she eventually degenerates into a lovesick puppy. This softening of her character, coupled with the overly conventional ending that it generates, is the movie's greatest flaw. But along the way, the viewer is treated to a well-made film. The locations are picturesque, from Crown's palatial Manhattan office to his secluded Martinique retreat. And the impeccable wardrobe seems to have been provided primarily by Giorgio Armani. Finally, the movie ends with yet another astounding gallery heist even more daring and original than the first. Robberies aside, however, the thrill of this picture is in wondering which of the lover/competitors will win the game. The disappointment comes when we realize there will be a draw.