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
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Title: The Grifters (1990)
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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 |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
See All (90) »
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. Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
Plot Keywords:
hidden money | femme fatale | mother son relationship | con | older woman younger man relationship |Taglines:
Seduction. Betrayal. Murder. Who's Conning Who?Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
25 January 1991 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Ambiciones prohibidas See more »Edit
Box Office
Opening Weekend USA:
$71,034, 9 December 1990Gross USA:
$13,446,769Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$13,446,769Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
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.
See more »
Did You Know?
Goofs
When Roy visits Lilly in her hotel room to repay his medical expenses, there is a boom mic clearly visible. See more »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.
See more »
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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