The Thomas Crown Affair of 1968 is all about its casting. Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway come together for the kind of modish, sexy thriller that is increasingly rare.
The star wattage on display, reflected in gorgeous close-ups and impeccable haute couture styling, overwhelms the plot. McQueen’s Thomas Crown is a risk-addicted millionaire with a secret side business in crime. His latest heist attracts the attention of insurance investigator Vicki (Dunaway). Vicki finds herself turned on by the man she is meant to turn in.
Norman Jewison’s film is available on Apple TV+. Among its highlights is Michel Legrand’s score, a suggestive chess game between the gorgeous leads, and the use of split screens. The spilt-screen technique injects vigour into the film, but proves to be a gimmick that cannot compensate for the flimsy plot.
John McTiernan’s 1999 remake, which is also on Apple TV+, vastly improves on its source. This version also has a pair of camera-friendly leads, a game of chess with a more explicit outcome, and a fabulous score by Bill Conti. There are no split screens to strain the eyeballs. What’s more, the remake imaginatively uses classic paintings to drive its plot.
When he isn’t buying out companies, Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) is stealing precious works of art for the heck of it. Thomas crave a worthy sparring partner, suggests his therapist – played by Faye Dunaway in a nod to the 1968 movie.
The theft of Claude Monet’s Dusk in Venice, San Giorgio Maggiore by Twilight from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City befuddles police detective Michael (Denis Leary). Insurance investigator Catherine (Rene Russo) is far ahead of Michael, quickly cottoning on to Thomas’s guilt but eventually seduced by his charisma and wealth.
Apart from Conti’s jazzy score, the movie inventively uses Nina Simone’s Sinnerman for its best sequence – a theft inspired by imagery from Rene Magritte’s surrealist painting The Son of Man. Vicki can’t help but marvel at Thomas’s ingenuity. She isn’t alone.