I caught this movie on TV last night and was so surprised by how much I had forgotten--except for the chiffon halter dress that Faye Dunaway wears--that had been seared into my 13-year-old mind as the height of chic in 1968. The previous comment said she was too distant and cold. Well, she was an insurance investigator, not a daycare provider. This was 1968 when women really had to be businesslike to make their way in the world and this also is the image of the writer of her character. What I loved was the minimalist dialog, the incredible lighting and composition in every frame (Haskell Wexler's genius at work), especially during the best scene ever of a chess match. This was totally film as film--it was a scene that could only come to life in film. It was such a pleasure to see a filmmaker rely on the photography, music and facial expressions of the actors to build a scene instead of another bang up car crash. The camera loved both actors' faces, but especially Steve McQueen's cragginess and leanness. I love witty dialog, but this minimalist approach worked because it fit the characters. And the end was perfect because it totally fit the characters. She was an investigator and just because she fell in love she wasn't prepared or able to abandon the way she had lived her life--within the law. He couldn't abandon his life choices either, because he'd only end up in jail without her anyway. A happy ending would have meant she was an entirely different person than we were led to believe. I think this movie stands the test of time incredibly well and as a piece of how you can film two people in a room nearly without dialog and make it interesting and erotic, well it's a treasure. .
Review of The Thomas Crown Affair
