Check and Mate: Sexual Tension and Thomas Crown Affair (1968)

“Do you play?”
“Try me.”

This post is part of the SEX! (Now that I have your attention) Blogathon hosted by MovieMovieBlogBlog.  Click here to read all the other salacious, sultry, and sexy posts of other participants.   

What is sexy? A very personal and subjective question.  While historical context plays a huge role in what we determine to be sexy, whether it’s gap teeth or doe eyes, etc.  Somethings, I think, will always be sexy.  Like that of sexual tension.  There is something to be said about the buildup that comes with pursuit that is downright sexy.  And The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) gives us a prime example of it.       
While subvert sexuality in film under  the Hay’s Code was on its way out by the time The Thomas Crown Affair hit theaters in June of 1968, we had not reached the complete break away of the 1970’s yet.  This plays well into the nature of the film itself.  The characters are playing a game.  A game that is played not out in the open, but through subtlety.        
Everyone who has ever seen The Thomas Crown Affair can recall the chess scene.  But I would like to make a case for the film’s sexiness as a whole.  This is not to say that the chess scene is not one of the sexiest ever filmed outside of that match between Antonious Block and the Devil, just kidding.   It is to say that the film as a whole is a crescendo of subvert sexuality and tension climaxing (pun intended) with that infamous chess match. The film constructs a characterization of the two main characters as almost archetypes of men and women in the modern world.  The immature male unwilling to let his guard down for fear his masculinity may be put to the test; and the career centered woman, at war with older societal sensibilities and her need for emotional fulfillment.   

Norman Jewison, designer of Windows 8 operating system

Bored millionaire Thomas Crown devises a bank heist.  Using an alias and some very bright lights, Tommy contracts multiple men to pull off the heist. Each man not knowing the next, only knowing their particular part in the job.  The heist is a success, netting Crown a cool 2 million dollars.  He then deposits the money in a series of trips to Switzerland.  The police are baffled.
Then comes  insurance investigator Vicki Anderson.  She for some reason immediately identifies Crown as the mastermind behind the heist.  So she begins to follow this lead.  Apparently Mr. Crown has made several trips to Switzerland recently.  Not an odd thing, I make about five a year.  This is suspect in Miss Anderson’s book.  And let the game of cat and mouse begin.  Not only is the overlying pursuit of Crown as the main suspect, there is also the underlying instant attraction between the two.  Which eventually leads to a relationship, complicating matters for both parties.  Tommy finally is forced to see how much Vicki actually loves him by telling her his plans for another heist. When his Rolls-Royce arrives at the cemetery for the pick up he is not in it.  Tommy has given her an ultimatum, which she tears up.  We see him flying away on a jet.  Ah the love that could never be. 

Can you hold on a minute? I seem to have a car backing up into my eye

Modernity is stylistically evident throughout this film.  There is nothing more mod than split screen storytelling. A stylistic element that attempts to break away from the narrative, giving the viewer an opportunity to see multiple actions as if they are happening simultaneously.  Given the film a faster paced feel.  Or in the case of this film, make the viewer believe there is more going on than actually is.  Modern style is evident in the two main characters as well. Both dress very stylishly.  They keep up with style.  They are both jet setters every sense of the word.
Thomas Crown is a millionaire investment banker.  He also plays polo, flies gliders, rides in dune buggies, and occasionally  plans bank heists.  He has grown bored with the everyday life of investment banking, polo matches, and gliding.  He longs for excitement. And he gets it when meets Vicki Anderson.  He is immature in the sense that all modern men are. Seeking vanity over substance.  Attempting to fill a void with objects and experiences rather than depth.  This immaturity is linked to his sense of trust.  He never lets anyone too close.  While this works out well when planning and executing bank robbery, it does not  bode well for relationships.      
Steve McQueen appears to be mildly out of place in a three piece suit.  Not what we as the audience are used to seeing him in as well.  In the same sense, Thomas Crown is out of place in the world he occupies.  Although he is obviously very good at investment banking, he is searching for something more.  Something outside the constraints of the banking world, outside of that three piece suit.  This feeling is almost unconsciously sensed through Steve McQueen’s actions. 

Excuse me, but you're sitting on my hand

Vicki Anderson is the modern woman.  Career driven, not held down by older societal norms of women.  This is the swinging 60’s, remember.  Her attire suggests she knows the value of materials.  Vicki is being pulled in two directions.  On the one hand she is a sophisticated, stylish, manipulative career woman.  On the other, she is possibly falling in love, subject to emotional and perhaps biological needs that come with it.  She is falling for a suspect that could make her a lot of money.  It is this internal fight that drives her character development.  Will she act on love or money?  The opposed of Tommy, who is struggling with issues of trust and in a sense maturity.  In the end it seems she goes for the money route, opting to remain a single career woman.  While leaving Tommy Crown to travel the world alone.      

Lip balm, here, now..

Sexual tension mounting on both sides culminates in the chess match.  A metaphor for the cat and mouse game the two characters have been playing since the beginning of the film.  Tommy boy has had most of the control up until this point, leading Vicki along.  It is not until the he invites her to play a game of chess that his guard is finally let down.  Vicki’s coy looks, lip pulls, and chess piece fondling do him in.

So this is the bishop? or is it the pawn?

Through quick cuts we see her sexual innuendos played out.  First subversively through eye fluttering and arm rubbing. Becoming more overt, lip tugging and piece stroking.  Cuts back to Crown show him at first mindful of the game. Vicki’s play is at first innocent, mimicking Crown’s, pawn and then knight.  Becoming more aggressive as her distractions become more visible.  He then begins to mimic her hand movements as he becomes further distracted. She touches his leg with hers, he flinches. He puts his hand on the side to rest, she touches it. He has lost the match before it even began.  Even the lighting of each character is designed to lead the audience on the route of seduction.  Dunaway is lite softly, giving her features a glow.  While McQueen is also lite from one side, his lighting is much harsher and realistic. Then growing ever distracted by his competitor, he is easily forces into check. Something he is not used to he stands up “let’s play something else”, pulling her to him.

No seriously, we have to finish the game.

They come together in a kiss.  Cutting from multiple angles the camera still lingers on the two, getting tighter and more frequently with cuts.  Until the camera spins out of control around the two characters, melting into a colorful blur of light. 
They end up spending a lot of time together.  Riding in the dune buggy, going to his beach house deck thing, and having a nice time.  But eventually they both must come to terms with their  own inner complications and the roles they've established with each other from the very beginning. 
Unfortunately for these two, it was not meant to be.  We are left with the sense that the modern romance is a matter of choice.  That we can’t have both love and money.  Trust and freedom.  These entities do not co-mingle in the modern romance.  Although, we the audience know that this is possible. 
Getting back to the topic at hand, what is sexy.  Whether you're in a new relationship, just met someone, or married for 40 years.  Even in the modern age pursuit is still sexy. So pursue, flirt, be subvert, play chess, and make that other person want to pursue you back.  Because like The Thomas Crown Affair shows us, there is nothing sexier than a game of cat and mouse.  And maybe a dune buggy ride.  

Going topless on the beach. I thought you meant something else Tommy!

And just in case you haven't seen the chess match here it is for your viewing pleasure.