The Grifters (1990)

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.

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers:

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

Stars:

Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Lily works for a bookie, placing bets to change the odds at the track. When her son is hospitalized after an unsuccessful con job and resultant beating, she finds that even an absentee parent has feelings for her child. This causes her own job to go wrong as well. Each of them faces the down side of the grift.

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Plot Keywords:

hidden money | femme fatale | mother son relationship | con | older woman younger man relationship | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The studio wanted Martin Scorsese to direct the film himself, but he personally chose Stephen Frears to do the job, while Scorsese stayed on as Producer.

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Goofs

Lily unscrews both light bulbs in the hallway outside Roy's apartment. In a following cut, Roy is seen entering his apartment from a well lit hallway.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Voice-over: Around the country the bookies pay off winners at track odds. It's dangerous when a long shot comes in. Unless you have somebody at the tracks to lower those odds.

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Contact/This World, Then the Fireworks/A Simple Wish/4 Little Girls/The Big Sleep/Shall We Dance? (1997)

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Soundtracks

Heartbreak Highway
(uncredited)
Performed by Keith Whitley

User Reviews

Huston and Bening Put the Femme in Fatale

A devilish, twisted modern day noir with style to spare.

Director Stephen Frears handles the morbid material expertly -- it walks a razor thin line between dark comedy and "too disturbing to enjoy." John Cusack plays the con-man at the film's center, torn between the affections of his mother and his lover. Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening, playing the two women, tear up the screen. Both of them are like femmes fatale who wandered out of the 1940s and ended up here. We can be grateful that they got lost.

A good, good movie.

Grade: A

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Grifters

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$71,034, 9 December 1990

Gross USA:

$13,446,769

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,446,769

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cineplex Odeon Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1