Rating: R
Genre:
Crime
Theatrical Release: 12/05/1990(USA)
Release Date: 09/24/2002
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DDS
Run Time: 110 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Profanity
Distributor/Studio: Miramax
Director
Stephen Frears' tense adaptation of
Jim Thompson's novel
The Grifters was one of a number of revival film noirs in the first half of the '90s. Updating the setting to contemporary Los Angeles, the film follows a trio of con artists who are intent on out-foxing each other. Roy Dillon (
John Cusack) is a simple, two-bit con, whose life is thrown into turmoil when his estranged mother Lilly (
Anjelica Huston) returns home in an attempt to evade the law. Lilly doesn't warm to Roy's girlfriend Myra Langtry (
Annette Bening), who is too similar to herself. Soon, the two women are competing for Roy in a battle that is more of a power struggle than a pursuit of affection, and the battle quickly turns dangerous. Huston was nominated for an Academy Award for her work.
~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
;)
