Themes from 'A Thomas Crown Affair'
Vicki Anderson (played by Faye Dunaway) is an independent investigator the insurance company hires to locate the stolen money. She relies on her intuition and her ability to charm and maintain the distance necessary to do her job. The fact that she is an investigator suggests that she likes challenges and men who are somewhat aloof and mysterious. This is why she is turned off on Eddie Malone, the police detective she
works with.
When Eddie first sees her at the airport, his professional demeanor takes a backseat to desire and he greets her with a big smile. But she ignores him completely and he becomes visibly upset by it. She figures him out quickly but Thomas Crown provides her with a challenge because he keeps his feelings hidden. He’s good-looking, highly educated, a playboy, likes to gamble on the currency market, 36, divorced, and available. Her intuition tells her that he’s the mastermind of the bank heist.
The use of split screens and moving panes in the film is designed to look like the chess board Thomas and Vicki play on at his place. When they wind up sleeping together, Vicki reminds her jealous partner, Eddie, that it’s all business. Their game of chess is to see who can keep their feelings out of the affair and stay focused on business.
The pivotal scene in the film and Vicki's character arc is when Eddie shows Vicki pictures of Thomas in a restaurant with another woman. For the 1st time in the film, Vicki shows her feelings and that she is jealous. She asks Thomas, in a roundabout way, if he brings other women to his place on the beach and he tells her that the woman he was seen in the restaurant with was simply a way to remind her of what she is-- a woman 1st and an investigator 2nd.
Vicki is torn by her feelings for Thomas and recovering the money he stole from the bank. She wants him to make a deal with Eddie; Eddie, however, can't get over his jealous feelings and wants to catch Thomas more than ever. Thomas tests Vicki by telling her about his plan to rob another bank in the same fashion that he robbed the previous bank. The police stake out the cemetery where the stolen money is to be put in a trash can and later picked up by Thomas. And when the police see his Rolls Royce pull up to the trash can they surround the car but the driver isn’t Thomas. The driver gives Vicki a telegram telling her to bring the money or keep the car. He is in a jet out of the country. In the end, it is a check-mate, as both stay true to business. Thomas stays true to himself by not allowing his heart to distract him from the fact that Vicki is still a detective and still out to earn the insurance company's 10% finders fee. Him not trusting her resolves the conflict between her feelings and carrying out her job.
When Eddie first sees her at the airport, his professional demeanor takes a backseat to desire and he greets her with a big smile. But she ignores him completely and he becomes visibly upset by it. She figures him out quickly but Thomas Crown provides her with a challenge because he keeps his feelings hidden. He’s good-looking, highly educated, a playboy, likes to gamble on the currency market, 36, divorced, and available. Her intuition tells her that he’s the mastermind of the bank heist.
The use of split screens and moving panes in the film is designed to look like the chess board Thomas and Vicki play on at his place. When they wind up sleeping together, Vicki reminds her jealous partner, Eddie, that it’s all business. Their game of chess is to see who can keep their feelings out of the affair and stay focused on business.
The pivotal scene in the film and Vicki's character arc is when Eddie shows Vicki pictures of Thomas in a restaurant with another woman. For the 1st time in the film, Vicki shows her feelings and that she is jealous. She asks Thomas, in a roundabout way, if he brings other women to his place on the beach and he tells her that the woman he was seen in the restaurant with was simply a way to remind her of what she is-- a woman 1st and an investigator 2nd.
Vicki is torn by her feelings for Thomas and recovering the money he stole from the bank. She wants him to make a deal with Eddie; Eddie, however, can't get over his jealous feelings and wants to catch Thomas more than ever. Thomas tests Vicki by telling her about his plan to rob another bank in the same fashion that he robbed the previous bank. The police stake out the cemetery where the stolen money is to be put in a trash can and later picked up by Thomas. And when the police see his Rolls Royce pull up to the trash can they surround the car but the driver isn’t Thomas. The driver gives Vicki a telegram telling her to bring the money or keep the car. He is in a jet out of the country. In the end, it is a check-mate, as both stay true to business. Thomas stays true to himself by not allowing his heart to distract him from the fact that Vicki is still a detective and still out to earn the insurance company's 10% finders fee. Him not trusting her resolves the conflict between her feelings and carrying out her job.
