Director Project

Director: Stephen Frears (Final Film)

The Grifters is a pulpy Oedipal story influenced strongly by Greek tragedy and my earliest comparison to another film comes in the form of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 horror Psycho.

This film isn't a horror, and perhaps due to my real lack of knowledge regarding neo-noir I'm stuck for anything real to connect it to, but what I loved about the film, and the characters especially is that they're essentially conning everyone else, but also they're conning themselves. Conning themselves into believing what they want to believe and overall, the film, despite me not really having talked much about it, is a spectacularly performed and put together tour of excellence.

It's a twisty sleight of the hand that proves to be a slightly complex con act performed by an accomplished and confident Stephen Frears. I'm not one to often recommend a film, but this is certainly at least well worth watching.

"Well, who's a boy gonna talk to if not his mother?"

Who would have thought Lester Burnham's wife could play a conniving Bimbo to perfection?

John Cusack excels in a restrained performance.

Anjelica Huston as expected nails down the part of the experienced grifter who has seen it all.

A juicy neo noir with killer lines with twists and turns around the corner!

I know this is beloved in many quarters, and maybe being (very) late to the party on this one cost me the benefit of context and freshness. Because this just seems like a solid, unspectacular long con movie to me—Roy's struggle in choosing whether to devote his loyalty to Myra (the girl), Lilly (the estranged mom; did love how Roy called her by her name throughout) or himself is theoretically intriguing and appealing but never quite took hold of me as I'd hoped it would at the outset. Some fun, some wit, some charm, but all fully in the realm of "some"—I never felt wholly engaged. Perfectly enjoyable and boasts a few terrific shots (especially at the very end), along with excellent performances, but never achieves the sassy level of those genre entries that really sink their hooks in.

pro

Hitchcock meets David Mamet?

I don't understand how Stephen Frears could direct movies like they were made for television (such as "The Queen") after this great neo-noir film. Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening are stunning as femme fatales.

I guess I was expecting a movie about grifters to have a bit more...grifting. That's on me. Benning and Huston are fantastic and I love John Cusack.

A gritty and gripping neo-noir with Anjelica Huston delivering yet another fantastic performance. She's always great to watch in films.

Slightly tonally all over the place, but forgiven for being so much fun.
Annette Bening draws you in and makes you stare in amazement.

A good, pulpy noir. Just what I wanted.

Pettumus. Pisisulide maailm ja nende väikesed trikid. Lisaks keerulised inimsuhted. Tegelikult on see film puhas peredraama. Sisu ja põnevus/pinge puudub. Ootasin kogu aeg, et midagi haaravat juhtuks. Aga... ei midagi. Tunnistan, et ootasin rohkemat.

Not sure why it took me so long to finally watch this film. It's crazy, chaotic and all kinds of creepy but I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It's far from perfect but the noir-feel makes it a fun watch.

I avoided the film for almost 20 years because I considered it boring for some reason. In hindsight, I can now say that I liked the film. However, I suspect that the makers thought the script was smarter than it really is. The story does take some unexpected turns, but the really big surprises don't happen and the whole thing remains a bit emotionless. Watch it for the actors and their great performances, this includes the well cast supporting roles, and the welcome and enjoyable twist in the middle of the movie.