THE GRIFTERS

THE GRIFTERS, director Stephen Frears brilliant neo-noir from 1990, comes with an impeccable pedigree. It's based on a novel by pulp crime master Jim Thompson. The screenplay is by the legendary Donald E. Westlake, a man who knows his way around a con or two. It's produced by Martin Scorsese (one can only wonder what this film would have looked like if Scorsese had been behind the camera). Hell, it even has a score by old Hollywood master Elmer Bernstein. Add in a stellar supporting cast including Henry Jones, Pat Hingle, J.T. Walsh and Charles Napier and you've got a sure fire winner.

But the engine that drives this con job is the powerhouse cast of John Cusack, Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening, a threesome who comprise the points of an isosceles triangle built of lies, lust, greed and naked avarice. Roy Dillon (Cusack), is a small time con operator, working the grift alone and only occasionally but never for huge amounts. But if you're a good con man (and Roy is), you can live fairly comfortably on your ill-gotten gains. His hot-to-trot girlfriend Myra (Bening), is a hyper sexualized nympho, with experience working the long con. But to pull off an elaborate con game she needs Roy for a partner and Roy refuses to team up.

Enter Lilly Dillon (Huston), Roy's mother, from whom he's been estranged for many years. Only fourteen-years-old when Roy was born, Lilly is more a big sister (and potential love interest to Roy, twisted as that may be), than a real mother. Lilly is a runner for a Baltimore based horse racing syndicate headed by the sadistic Bobo Justus (Hingle). While covering the betting action at the tracks in Southern California, Lilly sends back Bobo's cut on a regular basis but is also skimming off the top. When Bobo finds out, the shit hits the fan.

Lilly and Myra hate each other and constantly battle for Roy's affection, skills and money. Things get dark and dicey in the third act and only one of these three sharp operators is left alive when all of the smoke has cleared.

Oliver Stapleton brings a noir sheen to the sun splashed landscapes of Los Angeles and parts south. Westlake's screenplay (which differs from the book in several key ways), is nonetheless a well built machine, the gears clicking and humming along right up to the fatal denouement. Frears direction is stylish without being overwhelming (there are very few "look at me, I'm directing!" shots) but the real attraction here is seeing these three cut-throats brought to vivid life by the leads.

THE GRIFTERS received four Academy Award nominations: Best Director (Frears), Best Adapted Screenplay (Westlake), Best Actress (Huston) and Best Supporting Actress (Bening). This is one razor-sharp (and definitely for adults only) piece of work. Highly recommended.