The Grifters
Lilly (Angelica Huston) is a veteran conwoman who places track bets on behalf of feared gangster Bobo Justus (Pat Hingle), but she is looking for a fresh start. When her estranged son Roy (John Cusack) is hurt trying to pull a con of his own, they temporarily reunite. However, Lilly instantly wins the enmity of Roy’s girlfriend Myra (Annette Bening), a talented grifter in her own right. Surrounded by a pair of manipulative women, Roy must decide who he can actually trust.
Directed by Stephen Frears, produced by Martin Scorcese, and adapted by Donald Westlake from Jim Thompson’s novel, The Grifters boasts an impressive pedigree, but it manages to be less than the sum of its parts. This is no slight to the film but rather an acknowledgment that the talent involved sets the burden of expectations rather high.
One of the film’s defining traits is its idiosyncratic sense of style. The film appears to be set in the 80s – and retains the same colorful tones that Frears utilized for The Hit – but some of the dialogue and character mannerisms are ripped from the 40s. The clash between the bright look and the dark themes is intriguing but not nearly as immersive as a more conventional noir would be.
This clash between heavy/old and light/new plays out in front of the camera, too. By 1990, Cusack was predominately known for his sensitive outcast roles in teen movies. While he successfully breaks typecasting here, the hard-boiled delivery does not suit him at all. He is also outshined by Huston (who looks somewhat out-of-place herself as a blonde) an especially Bening. The former is tough, the latter is a seductive, and both are ruthlessly determined. Among the smaller roles, J.T. Walsh brings life to a neurotic huckster, and Hingle manages to make a character named Bobo legitimately menacing.
Much like Robert Altman’s take on The Long Goodbye (though to a less jarring degree), The Grifters makes for both an interesting movie and an unsuccessful adaptation. Elements of Thompson’s trademark brutality are evident in the plotting, but the Hollywoodization evident here softens the impact considerably. While this may appeal to a wider audience, it has the unfortunate effect of making The Grifters far less memorable than it should be.
7.75/10
