The Grifters
THE GRIFTERSÂ (18)
D:Â Stephen FrearsÂ
Palace/Cineplex Odeon (Martin Scorsese, Robert A.
Harris & James Painten)
USA 🇺🇸 1990
113 mins
Crime/Thriller
W: Donald E. Westlake [based on the
novel by Jim Thompson]
DP: Oliver Stapleton
Ed: Mick Audsley
Mus: Elmer Bernstein
PD: Dennis Gassner
Cos: Richard Hornung
Anjelica Huston (Lilly
Dillon), John Cusack (Roy Dillon), Annette Bening (Myra Langtry), Pat Hingle (Bobo Justus), J. T. Walsh (Cole Langtry)
It may look and feel like a Martin Scorsese film, but
the director only held producer duties on the picture, handing the directorial reins over to Brit Stephen Frears, who does an absolutely fantastic job with a rather perverse
story.
Anjelica Huston & John Cusack are mother and son,
both confidence tricksters, Cusack small-time with his girlfriend Bening, while Huston gets bigger slices of the wedge, ripping off her mobster boss.
The trio of performances are perfect, while the film
resembles a dark, austere update of film noir, brilliantly written by Donald E. Westlake (from Jim Thompson's novel).Â
8/10
