Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

When this movie first came out the major buzz was about Rene Russo at middle age being brave enough to be sexy in a movie. I wanted to see this movie, because it’s hard for me to believe that Rene Russo could be sexy in a movie. After seeing her in the Lethal Weapon movies I often wondered how this woman was able to consistently get movie work.

When I rented this movie I really got it for my wife, and then I found out that she never wanted to see the movie. She hadn’t seen the original Thomas Crown Affair and really wasn’t interested in seeing the remake. Hey I heard it was a romantic picture and everyone can use a little romance in their life so I rented the movie hoping for the best.

I didn’t know that it was a heist movie and I didn’t know that Denis Leary, Ben Gazarra and the amazing Faye Dunaway were in the supporting cast of characters. Faye Dunaway was in the original Thomas Crown affair so I guess in a nod to the original, she plays a shrink in this one. In a nutshell this movie is about the theft of a painting by a wealthy industrialist who steals for sport it seems and an insurance adjuster bent on recovering the painting which has a value of 100 million. If she recovers the painting she will get five percent of its value. Five million can be a great motivator, the only motivator more powerful are human hormones and man does she have additional motivation when she suspects that Pierce Brosnan is the one who stole the painting. That cat and mouse game and the romance are on.

There isn’t much to the plot of this movie so it was up to the director and the actors to make it work. Every actor does a magnificent job in this film, but it’s the fire between Russo and Brosnan that lights up the screen. The few scenes when they aren’t together is the only reprieve you get from their sizzle. Then there is Faye Dunaway the few scenes they gave her in this movie are amazing, I had forgotten how good she could be, or maybe I was happy to see her in a movie. The writer and the director of this film should have won Oscars for the deft way they introduced every element of the story and made it work and play against the developing romance between Bonsnan and Russo. There is a very subtle subplot and some fire between Russo and Denis Leary in the beginning of the film, but he realizes when it’s time to give up to the fire Russo and Brosnan generate.

The movie is rather predictable in some places, but just when you think you know where you’re headed and you expect the traditional Hollywood romantic tripe, they throw in a twist. Then, just when you think you’re on to them, they throw you a left turn. It takes a good 30 minutes for this movie to get started, but once it does, watch out.

In the final analysis this is an amazing movie and a showcase for the acting talents of Pierce Brosnan and Renee Russo. If you don’t like either of them or you could care less, this movie is a good introduction to them and for me, it is one of their best movies. I can’t rave enough about how the chemistry of Brosnan and Russo made you care about their characters and feel what they felt at every turn. Their happiness is your happiness; their sadness is your sadness. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to look at a romantic story on the screen and get the range of emotions that this movie generates.


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older