The Grifters (1990)

Frears and Westlake turn Thompson’s icy consideration of mother love into something diamond-hard and mesmerizing, with Huston as the ferocious motor of the piece and masterful control over the nerves in this updated noir.

The film captures the cynical, despairing spirit of Jim Thompson's pulp noir through strong performances, particularly from Anjelica Huston as the ruthless mother and Annette Bening as the dangerous girlfriend, as three con artists seduce and betray one another in a web of consequences.

The critic praises the superb performances by Anjelica Huston, John Cusack and Annette Bening as masterful con artists in a gripping neo-noir thriller. Taut direction by Stephen Frears and the adaptation of the Jim Thompson novel stand out, making the film worth revisiting despite mixed original reviews.

The film retains the novel's hardboiled pitilessness and creates tension by placing 1950s characters in 1990s L.A., with Frears and Westlake heightening sexual electricity and Anjelica Huston's monstrous Lilly biting through the pulp in a paralyzing final scene.

The critic praises Stephen Frears, screenwriter Donald E. Westlake, and the cast's take on Jim Thompson’s novel. The review highlights the strong ensemble performances in this adaptation.

Stephen Frears's taut, tough and funny adaptation turns the three con artists into a viciously entertaining parody of a trinity, delivering a gritty hard-boiled melodrama that examines the genre while ending on a sorrowful note.

The critic highlights the con-artist mother Lily (Anjelica Huston) as the most ruthlessly survivalist figure, portraying her as a tragic character with maternal instincts who ultimately destroys her son. Donald Westlake’s screenplay and Stephen Frears’ direction are praised for capturing the starkness of Jim Thompson’s novel, with Huston singled out as astonishing.

Jim Thompson's novel is fashioned into a curiously uneven movie, with Cusack underplaying Roy as a colorless cipher and the film struggling to find consistent tone despite strong source material.