I remember wanting to see the neo-noir back in 1991 when it played at a local art house theater. Somehow, I never made it to the theater and missed the movie entirely.

The Grifters, adapted from the novel of the same name, stars John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, and Annette Bening as con artists, i.e. grifters, Roy, Lilly, and Myra respectively . Roy is Lilly’s son but because she was so young when he was born he was passed off as her younger brother for most of his life. Lilly works for a major Maryland mobster, Bobo, traveling to racetracks and placing large bets to reduce the odds for longshot horses and is estranged from Roy. Roy is a short con artist, playing trick on marks that pay off quickly with elaborate set-up allowing him to avoid most form of legal entrapment and enforcement. Myra is a long con artist looking for a new partner and is involved with Roy though at the start of the story neither are aware that they are both grifters. Grievously injured by a mark, Roy lands in the hospital bringing all three of the character together and dynamic of the triangle are established. Lilly wants her son out of the racket and to go ‘straight,’ Myra wants to displace Lilly as a major influence in Roy’s life, and Roy struggles to find a way to satisfy both women while maintaining his independence. Stakes quickly rise and soon it becomes a matter of life and death over Roy’s stash of cash and his relationship with Lilly.

Directed by Stephen Frears and produced by Martin Scorsese The Grifters is a bleak, cynical look at humanity and the self-destructive nature of greed and the need to dominate. I enjoyed the film thought I found the ending less than fully satisfying. While the story and plot are both resolved I tend to prefer for a story to force a character to make a choice, a hard, difficult choice, rather than having an impulsive action produce unintended consequences that resolve the conflicts. This is not the same as a deus ex machina where an unestablished power or character magically removes the troubles but rather in this case a realistic and predictable outcome comes from a moment’s anger rather than a character making the decision to produce that final outcome.

Still, I am glad I watched the film before it finished its run on The Criterion Channel at the end of the month.