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From the anime Noir, Episode 2.
Context: The husband comes home and his wife and son greet him outside.
Wife: おかえりなさい。今日は早いのね？
Husband: ああ、思ったより早く仕事が終わってね。
The wife's line, I get. The husband's line.....(????). Is he saying that "from thinking, my job is finished."...? I really don't understand what role より is playing in the sentence. Or even what it means.
I think it means:
"Yeah, I finish(ed) [work/my job/the job] earlier than (I) expected."
思ったより早く = "earlier than one expected" or "more early than one expected"
See also 思ったより at Space ALC for more examples.
"A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar" seems to indicate that the way the verb 思う combines with より is an exception:
Either a noun phrase or a sentence precedes yori. When verbs precede yori, they are usually nonpast. However, there are a few cases where past tense verbs are used, as in その試験は思ったよりやさしかった。 (The exam was easier than I thought.)
思うより is rarely used compared to 思ったより, so maybe there is something more to this. One person said 思うより might be used when telling friends that the test is easier than you'd expect, e.g. 明日の試験はあなたが思うよりやさしいと思うよ, but that 思っているより may be better than 思うより there. 試験は思ったよりやさしい-> you're currently taking an exam that's easier than you expected; 試験は思ったよりやさしかった -> the exam is finished and was easier than you expected. I think "I [expected/thought...]" and "would [expect/think]" may often be interchangeable.