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      The Grifters

      R Released Dec 5, 1990 1 hr. 53 min. Crime Drama List
      91% 47 Reviews Tomatometer 70% 10,000+ Ratings Audience Score Hard-as-nails Lily Dillon (Anjelica Huston) works as a swindler for dangerous bookie Bobo (Pat Hingle), probably the only man she fears. Arriving in Los Angeles on "business," Lily looks up her son, Roy (John Cusack), a small-time con artist content with paltry sleight-of-hand cheats. Roy's girlfriend, Myra (Annette Bening), looks like an All-American type but is a grifter looking to pull off another big-time con. The convergence of the three hustlers inevitably means trouble for all of them. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Nov 29 Buy Now

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      The Grifters

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      Critics Consensus

      Coolly collected and confidently performed, The Grifters is a stylish caper that puts the artistry in con.

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      Audience Reviews

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      Josh R The overly cruel and senseless ending spoiled the good impression of the film... Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/10/23 Full Review kevin m How does is this movie rate 91%? The movie is called The Grifters. The reviews talk about three grifters in the movie. What three grifters? There's only one grifter - Roy - and he's a small time grifter at that. He's basically an amateur. He has a hiding place full of cash, but we're never given any explanation as to how he earned that cash. Card tricks? His mother, Lilly, bets on horses on the West coast to make money for some East Coast syndicate. How does that make her a grifter? Then we come to Roy's girlfriend, Myra. Apparently she plays the long con. The only proof of this we are given is her description of the long cons she has played in the past with a professional team. She wants to convince Roy to work long cons with her. If she's such a pro, why is she trying to recruit a small time player? Even Roy is smart enough to know that the long con is out of his league. The only actual crime Myra commits is trying to kill Lily. Murder is not the usual style of a grifter. The actors do an OK job with what they have, but I don't get the story at all. I was looking forward to this movie, because I enjoy movies, books, and TV shows about grifters. If you do too, don't bother with this one. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member The greatest 01 hour: and 53 minutes of crime fighting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review John R While each individual actor does a great job, and there certainly are plenty of grifts in the movie (the title is no lie), this one just seemed to fall flat. Why am I supposed to care about these people? Other than "We steal money from people via shenanigans," what's the plot? I'm just not impressed. Also, (Spoiler) Roy has a thing for his mom(?). Gross. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/17/22 Full Review Audience Member The movie tries hard to add style points (the rather refreshing Neo-Noir style was instantly intriguing). But ultimately this was a tedious chore of a film. Anjelica Huston gave a pretty fantastic performance but it's totally lost in a nonsensical plot. Annette Benning has a few memorable scenes as well (not always so memorable for her acting :) ). I think the biggest miss though was in the casting. John Cusack is genuinely an actor I enjoy but he was a good 5-10'uears too young and too "John Cusack" to play the role here. I mean Rob Lowe maybe could have pulled it off. A pretty great Huston performance is lost on a waste of nearly 2 hours of film…. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member A nasty story about some very nasty people! Great acting though, loved it. John Cusack, as always gives a master class in how to do it! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

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      Pauline Kael New Yorker Toying with L.A. film noir, the director, Stephen Frears, and the scriptwriter, Donald E. Westlake, do twisted, anomalous things. Sep 11, 2023 Full Review Julie Salamon Wall Street Journal Frears is as good with the small touches as he is with the big ones -- and that means they're great. Aug 10, 2022 Full Review David Ansen Newsweek These doomed grifters deserve instant admission into the film noir pantheon. Feb 6, 2018 Full Review Terry Francis Southern Voice (Atlanta) Wonderfully eccentric. Rated: 3.5/4 May 9, 2023 Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) Frears has taken many liberties with the book, and the movie is, something rather rare, better than the original. [Full review in Spanish] Jan 25, 2023 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews There's little doubt that The Grifters ultimately fares quite a bit better than its literary predecessor... Rated: 3.5/4 May 2, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Hard-as-nails Lily Dillon (Anjelica Huston) works as a swindler for dangerous bookie Bobo (Pat Hingle), probably the only man she fears. Arriving in Los Angeles on "business," Lily looks up her son, Roy (John Cusack), a small-time con artist content with paltry sleight-of-hand cheats. Roy's girlfriend, Myra (Annette Bening), looks like an All-American type but is a grifter looking to pull off another big-time con. The convergence of the three hustlers inevitably means trouble for all of them.
      Director
      Stephen Frears
      Executive Producer
      Barbara De Fina
      Screenwriter
      Donald E. Westlake, Jim Thompson
      Distributor
      Miramax Films
      Production Co
      Cineplex-Odeon Films
      Rating
      R
      Genre
      Crime, Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Dec 5, 1990, Wide
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Apr 21, 2016
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $10.1M
      Sound Mix
      Surround
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