Norman Jewison
The Thomas Crown Affair

Imagine a little girl placed in front of the TV who, by sheer chance, stumbles upon the split screen images of this film's opening scenes. Without knowing anything about directors, actors, or filmmaking techniques, she becomes mesmerized and watches the film to the end, with confused thoughts like: "This film is so cool. Never seen anything like it."

This is the magic of cinema: capturing the viewer with some images and dragging them into an unforgettable experience, without tormenting or provoking them to resist until the end credits to give them the illusion of having superior intelligence.

This film doesn't provoke, intimidate, or shock. It is “only” refined and elegant entertainment - qualities now lost - yet also concise, with only 102 minutes of runtime and none wasted.

The plot of The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) has no intellectual pretensions, and it works precisely because of this. The bored millionaire Thomas Crown decides to organize the perfect heist with a gang of criminals who don't know him and don't know each other, an idea that will also be picked up by Reservoir Dogs, but in a much darker way. The film’s first unforgettable scenes show the heist with the famous split screen, which will be used sparingly throughout the rest of the movie.

Of course, the police are in the dark until Vicky Anderson, an insurance investigator, enters the scene: too beautiful, chic, and perfect to be believable, but a good film character. She is not interested in justice: she aims at the 10% reward for the recovery of the loot and, while she’s at it, at teasing Thomas, the most sophisticated thief in film history. She flirts, provokes, and manipulates him with style.

Among the most famous scenes is the chess game between Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway: she in a nude dress that obviously draws more attention than the chessboard, he trying to focus on the chess but stands no chance of succeeding.

The conclusion, deliberately ambiguous, with Vicky torn between choosing happiness or her 10%, is the cherry on top.

The film has made history for its innovative style, for two stars at the peak of their sex appeal, and for the Oscar-winning song (The Windmills of Your Mind). Directed by Norman Jewison, who knew how to mix luxury, adrenaline, and seduction in a balanced cocktail for a film that should not be analyzed, but simply SAVORED.