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Movies / On DVD / The Grifters
The Grifters

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The Grifters (1990)

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Reviews Counted:37

Fresh:33

Rotten:4

Average Rating:7.8/10

Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: THE GRIFTERS is an intense character study of a group of people caught up in a world where nobody can be trusted. Stephen Frears presents this cool and brutal adaptation of Jim Thompson's stylish... THE GRIFTERS is an intense character study of a group of people caught up in a world where nobody can be trusted. Stephen Frears presents this cool and brutal adaptation of Jim Thompson's stylish noir novel, which centers on the complex lives of three con artists. Shady Roy Dillon (John Cusack), a low-level Los Angeles con man and petty thief, and Roy's sexy, amoral girlfriend Myra (Annette Bening), a con artist who is down on her luck and willing to do whatever it takes to get back on top of her game; are the focal point of the action. Rounding out the trio is Roy's mother, Lilly (Angelica Huston), a veteran con artist who shares little with Roy other than a bizarre oedipal attraction. The seedy underbelly of LA life is played out in evocative tableaux, as Myra and Lilly compete for Roy's attention until they ultimately drive him away. [More]

Starring: Anjelica Huston, Annette Bening, John Cusack, Stephen Tobolowsky

Starring: Anjelica Huston, Annette Bening, John Cusack, Stephen Tobolowsky, Michael Laskin, Eddie Jones, Sandy Baron, Lou Hancock, Gailard Sartain, Pat Hingle, Jeremy Piven, Charles Napier, J.T. Walsh, Frances Bay, Xander Berkeley, Juliet Landau

Director: Stephen Frears

Director: Stephen Frears
Story: Jim Thompson
Producer: Martin Scorsese, Robert A. Harris, Jim Painter
Composer: Elmer Bernstein

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jun 30, 1998

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Grifters

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21 - 37 (sorted by date)
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No review available.

comment 1 Comment
06/26/03
Edward Havens
Edward Havens
FilmJerk.com

The Grifters is so good that one leaves the theater on a spellbound high.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
New York Times

No review available.

comment Comment
03/24/03
Brian J. Arthurs
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)

No review available.

comment Comment
11/12/02
Nicolas Lacroix
Nicolas Lacroix
Showbizz.net

perfectly-cast... a gem

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
09/20/02
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/13/02
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

No review available.

comment Comment
08/09/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/31/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

An acidic modern noir full of two-faced cons and unexpected jolts.

comment Comment
07/25/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

A love triangle among grifters (con artists), that plays out as a film noir morality tale.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
08/15/01
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A perfectly cast and gripping neo-noir thriller.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
07/25/01
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine

I guess the whole problem is that there's just not enough grifting going on.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
02/27/01
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

The Grifters is a cynical film that continually catches the audience off-guard; if you're into dark film noir, it doesn't come much darker than this.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

This is one human board game that's absorbing to watch.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It seduces you into believing it's merely a cheeky trifle, and then, when you least expect it, lowers the boom.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Hal Hinson
Hal Hinson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is not a bad film, it just fails to materialize into a very good one.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

This is a movie of plot, not episode. It's not just a series of things that happen to the characters, but a web, a maze of consequences.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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