The Grifters (1990)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers (WGA):

Jim Thompson (novel)
Donald E. Westlake (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 January 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Seduction. Betrayal. Murder. Who's Conning Who?

Plot:

A small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend--both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.

Plot Keywords:

Con | Con Artist | Elevator | Con Trick | Female Criminal

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Anjelica Huston	...	Lilly Dillon
John Cusack	...	Roy Dillon
Annette Bening	...	Myra Langtry
Jan Munroe	...	Guy at Bar
Robert Weems	...	Racetrack Announcer
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Jeweler
Jimmy Noonan	...	Bartender
Richard Holden	...	Cop
Henry Jones	...	Simms
Michael Laskin	...	Irv
Eddie Jones	...	Mintz
Sandy Baron	...	Doctor
Lou Hancock	...	Nurse
Gailard Sartain	...	Joe
Noelle Harling	...	Nurse Carol Flynn

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Norway:15

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Company:

Cineplex-Odeon Films

Trivia:

Henry Jones' final feature film appearance.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the train, when Roy is grifting the sailors, you can see that he is only rolling one die at a time. However, you can distinctly hear him drop two dice (out of the frame) to the table at the end of the game.

Quotes:

Arizona Motel Clerk: Some-in' wrong? Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were the other lady.
Myra Langtry: No, I'm me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: 'Manos' the Hands of Fate (#5.24)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

DO YOU DO YOU LOVE ME

Original Film-Noir

In Los Angeles, the smalltime crook Roy Dillon (John Cusack) is hit by a baseball bat in the stomach when he tries to swindle a bar attendant. His mother Lilly Dillon (Anjelica Huston) works in La Jolla for the powerful bookmaker Bobo Justus (Pat Hingle), who owns the Justus Amusement Company in Baltimore, placing bets to change the odds at the track but also stealing some money for her that she stashes in her Cadillac. When Lilly comes to Los Angeles to a horse race, she pays a visit to Roy after eight years without seeing each other, and she finds that he has an internal hemorrhage and sends him to the hospital, saving his life. When the experienced Lilly sees Roy's girlfriend, the slut and con artist Myra Langtry (Annette Bening), she immediately finds that Myra is a roper. But the grieved Roy does not pay attention to his absent mother and decides to travel with Myra to La Jolla to spend a couple of days resting. Myra sooner finds that Roy lives of short-con grift and proposes him a great plan to rope tycoons; further she unravels Lilly's scheme with Bobo's money. When Roy turns Myra and her offer down, the greedy women set in motion a betrayal that brings tragic consequences to each player.

"The Grifters" is an original and sexy film-noir of the 90's. The sordid story presents very well-developed amoral and cynical characters: Roy Dillon that left home when he was seventeen years old feeling that he was an inconvenient to his mother Lilly that delivered him when she was only fourteen years old. There is some never totally clear incestuous relationship between them and in common they are con-artists – Roy a smalltime and Lilly a shark swindler. In conflict with their tortuous relationship is the tramp Myra Langtry, one of the most promiscuous and amoral characters that I have seen in contemporary movies. The performances of Anjelica Huston, John Cusack and Annette Bening have awesome performances and I do not recall seeing the body of Annette Bening so exposed in another movie. The story is totally unpredictable and the end shows what Lilly is capable of doing to survive. This is the third time that I watch this great movie that still surprises me. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Os Imorais" ("The Immoral")