Movie Review: "The Thomas Crown Affair"

"I want you to talk about women." The first line articulated in "The Thomas

Crown Affair" does a great job of illustrating the main conflict dwelt with in the movie. The main characters include Catherine Banning (Rene Russo) and Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan). The movie is set in modern day New York, primarily in an art gallery. In this movie, we see a 90's feministic struggle to continue power and reputation in light of a great emotional desire towards a male. This idea is expressed by the portrayal of the underlying character, Catherine.

Catherine Banning is portrayed as an independent driven woman, who can get anything she wants by flaunting her sexuality. This idea is stressed by the choice of costume used in the film. In the beginning half of the movie, she is shown in long and short skirts. The main material of her clothing is black leather.

The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)

Pierce Brosnan at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival

The Thomas Crown Affair (1999 film)

She is shown in three separate shots wearing fur collars. This would imply elegance and femininity, as well as wealth and status. In the black and white ball scene, she is dressed in a transparent black sequin dress with a red wrap. This emphasizes her provocative nature. It is her ability to use her body to get information from Thomas Crown that is portrayed in the beginning scenes. Throughout the entire movie, she is the one who makes the first move. She is the one who leans in and kisses him. She is the one initiating sex. There is not one time that Thomas initiates anything physical. Catherine is constantly using her physical appeal to get what she wants. The most interesting part of her costuming throughout the entire movie is that it becomes more conservative as the movie matures. Once we see that she no longer...