In this golden age of home viewing, the Criterion Collection still provides some of the best editions of the best movies ever released, usually with a rich selection of extras and often including audio commentaries (a feature they pioneered, and perhaps the greatest gift ever to film students and cinephiles alike). This column features one Criterion release per week, based entirely on where my interests lead me.
In a time when we’re seeing grift on the scale of millions and sometimes billions of dollars, with the perps enabled by the very people who are supposed to prevent that kind of thing, it’s pleasant to escape to a world where grift is measured in denominations we can understand and most victims bear at least some blame for their fleecing. Such is the world in which the three central characters in Stephen Frears’ neo-noir The Grifters live: all three navigate this world playing by it crooked, but at different scales and with different levels of expertise.
Lily (Angelica Huston; she was nominated for an Oscar for this role) is the senior con artist of the three. Age 39, she’s mother to Roy (John Cusack) and has a steady gig placing racetrack bets for her boss Bobo (Pat Hingle) to prevent the odds from getting out of hand. She’s also the most put-together of the three, with a series of knockout suits and dresses plus a white-blonde wig looking just fake enough to remind you of what business she’s in. Lily also knows when to con and when to play it straight, a survival instinct demonstrated during a scene with Bobo that’s uncomfortably scary (the consequences for screwing up are not pleasant).
Roy is 25, meaning Lily gave birth to him at age 14, so you won’t be surprised to learn their relationship is fraught. Roy flew the coop at age 17 and thinks he’s quite the big operator, although he hasn’t progressed beyond small-time scams like showing a $20 bill then palming it to pay with a ten. He nearly dies in what might be called suicide by stupidity—trying one of his little games on the wrong person, getting hit so hard he suffers internal bleeding, and not going to the hospital until his mother fortuitously turns up to call an ambulance.
Myra (Annette Bening) is Roy’s girlfriend. She at first appears to be about Roy’s age, but as we learn more about her past (granted, through an unreliable narrator) it becomes clear she must be older and also that she’s been around the block a few more times than has he. She’s between gigs at the moment and tries to recruit Roy for longer cons while covering her mundane expenses by using her body as currency. She’s certainly smarter than Roy, which isn’t saying that much, but exactly how smart we can’t be sure.
Frears initially emphasizes the commonality of Lily, Roy, and Myra, using split screens to show them going about their days in parallel. We don’t know their relationships immediately, but once we do, they add another layer of complication to the games they’re playing on each other and on the world. It also makes them unpredictable, since any particular action may be motivated by financial considerations, personal concerns, or some unpredictable combination of the two.
Some of the fun in The Grifters comes from watching the various cons play out, since there’s always something attractive about people who live by their wits, especially if they’re separating fools from their money. I suspect this emotion has something to do with cheering for the little guy, although these con artists are not exactly Robin Hoods, and it’s perfectly clear that they’re out for themselves first and foremost. Still, it’s hard to not admire their skill and impunity, as long a its from a distance, making them a bit like pizza rat: while fun to watch on the screen, but you certainly wouldn’t want them in your home.
Donald E. Westlake’s script, from a novel by Jim Thompson, proceeds like clockwork, while Oliver Stapleton’s cinematography is a marvel of grittiness in full color and Elmer Bernstein’s score offers an updated take on classic noir tropes. The main actors are all excellent, as are a number of character actors including Henry Jones (yes, the same guy who placed the handyman in the 1956 cult film The Bad Seed), Stephen Tobolowsky, and J.T. Walsh. Finally, Richard Hornung’s costumes, and a hair and makeup crew headed by Cydney Cornell and Julie Hewett lets us know who each character is long before their open their mouths. | Sarah Boslaugh
Spine #: 1246
Technical details: 110 min.; B&W; screen ratio 1.85:1; English.
Edition reviewed: Blu-ray (1 disc).
Extras: audio commentary by Stephen Frears, actors Anjelica Huston and John Cusack, and screenwriter Donald E. Westlake; interview with actor Annette Bening; making-of featurette with Cusack, Frears, Huston, and screenwriter Donald Westlake; featurette about source author Jim Thompson; illustrated booklet with an essay by Geoffrey O’Brien; the film’s trailer.
Fun Fact: The opportunity to direct The Grifters was first offered to Martin Scorsese, who instead recommend Stephen Frears. Scorses remained involved with the film, acting as a producer and delivering the opening narration (which offers a little lesson about parimutuel betting).
Parting Thought: In a movie where nearly everyone is conning everyone else, and the screenwriter and director like to play mind game, is anyone in this film really genuine? And can we be sure we know who is dead and who isn’t at the end of the film?
