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  Average Rating for The Grifters [1990] - 4 out of 5

  
  (based on 1 user reviews)
• The Grifters [1990]

  Kashif Ahmed 18 November 2010

  

  Like slow burning dynamite that leaves you with the bitter aftertaste of gunpowder and dust, 'The Grifters', whilst not the most pleasant of films, certainly leaves its mark on the viewer. Not surprising when you consider that author Jim Thompson's work includes controversial, hardboiled pulp fiction like 'This World Then the Fireworks' and 'The Killer inside Me'.
  
  Produced by Martin Scorcese and directed by Stephen Frears ('Dangerous Liaisons') the movie follows the vice ridden misadventures of con artists and the scams they pull. Focusing on a mother and son duo played by Angelica Huston and John Cusack (both brilliant as usual) 'The Grifters' throws a golden apple into the fray; with Cusack's older lover and likeminded thief Annette Benning (also on good form). The two women are bought together in a twist of fate after a con-gone-wrong, and it's only a matter of time before an unsavory and potentially lethal triangle begins to take shape. Benning and Huston seethe and scratch like there's no tomorrow whilst Cusack plays that classic noir archetype; the hapless patsy in over his head, to the hilt.
  
  'The Grifters' is well made, well acted and successfully updates the narrative from 1950s to 1990s L.A. A gritty, downbeat but expertly crafted exercise in moral ambiguity, betrayal and cynicism. Uplifting it ain't.

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When con-artist Roy Dillon (John Cusack) is reunited with his estranged con-artist mother Lily (Anjelica Huston), he finds himself caught in the middle of the savage feud which develops between her and his girlfriend Myra (Annette Bening), also a con-artist. Myra is trying to draw Roy into a game where the stakes are much higher than anything he has tried before. This results in a vicious beating. Lily takes exception to this, attempting to persuade Roy to change his ways. But Myra won't be outdone and vows to exact a terrible revenge.