The Grifters (1990)
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Cast
as Roy Dillon
as Lilly Dillon
as Myra Langtry
as Irv
as Bobo Justus
as Joe
as Cole
as Rebbing
as FBI Man
as Guy at Bar
as Jeweler
as Maid
as Simms
as Mintz
as Cop
as Lieutenant Pierson
as Dealer
as Shill
as Roper
as Doctor
as Nurse
as Lilly (age 19-22)
as Roy (age 5)
as Carol
as Roy (age 8)
as Clerk
as Sailor - Spooney
as 2nd Clerk
as Kaggs
as 1st Soldier
as 2nd Soldier
as 3rd Soldier
as 4th Soldier
as Drunk
as Waitress
as Drunk's Friend
as Cab Driver
as Arizona Motel Clerk
as Receptionist 1
as Bartender
as Bartender
as 2nd Receptionist
as 1st Beachgoer
as Mintz
as FBI Man
as Racetrack Announcer
Critic Reviews for The Grifters
All Critics (41) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (37) | Rotten (4) | DVD (2)
These doomed grifters deserve instant admission into the film noir pantheon.
Best to savor The Grifters for its handsome design -- the picture looks as clean as a Hockney landscape -- and its juicy performances.
A mannerist thriller that doesn't begin to work despite the number of talented hands involved.
Cusack underplays Roy, making him an unbelievable wiseguy, a colorless cipher too akin to the saps he loves to fleece.
Donald Westlake's excellent screenplay does some justice to the starkness of Jim Thompson's novel; and Frears' direction never fails to grab the attention.
The Grifters is so good that one leaves the theater on a spellbound high.
Audience Reviews for The Grifters
A first-rate neo-noir that benefits from superb performances (especially Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening); an excellent, dark script; a fantastic score by master Elmer Bernstein; and Stephen Frears' exquisite direction at the helm of one of the most gripping films of his career.
Super Reviewer
A young con artist learns the hard way that relationship problems cannot be solved with money. And there's a crapload of money here on display. Every time you look somebody is reaching into a bag to pull out stacks of green. Stacks of green laying around like a Halloween candy grab. And while Cusack and Bening are okay in this, make no mistake this is Anjelica Huston's movie. The best scene is between her and Pat Hingle, who can pull off psycho/wackjob with the best of them.
Super Reviewer
A forgettable outing from one of my favourite directors, unfortunately. Annette Bening is a sparkplug, Angelica Huston is electric, and the final act is a knockout. Unfortunately, the film bounces around for the first hour or more, in a way that, instead of building intrigue, is jarring and kind of confusing. Every time you think you understand what's happening with a character, the film cuts away and focuses elsewhere. It's not the three way chase that has been mastered elsewhere (see: No Country for Old Men), it's just a rote series of flashes. This film could easily have been 20 minutes shorter. But, to its credit, most of the threads dropped in the wandering earlier portion are picked up in the end, and the final half hour is gripping. Definitely an immature film from Frears, and one that was probably over-rated due to its adhesion to that weird early 90s neo-noir thing (see: Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction, etc.). If you turned it off before getting to the ending, I won't hold it against you.
Super Reviewer
The Grifters Quotes
| Lilly Dillon: | Lilly: My son will be all right. If he isn't, I'll have you killed. |
| Bobo Justus: | Tell me about the oranges, Lilly. |