The Grifters (1990)

Haven't seen it in years, but yeah, great film.

p-p-p-p-permanent damage

Anjelica Huston's performance is unassailable. She's one of the great tough broads in crime film history. However, physically, she's all wrong for the part and it's the main reason that the climactic scene between her and Cusack doesn't quite work. It wasn't set up properly through the film. Huston looks very much like she could be Cusack's mother. In the book, the Lily character does NOT look like Roy's mother to anyone -- including Roy. When they go out together they don't look like a mother and son. They look like a couple. Melanie Griffith was the original choice for the role and that would've worked better for that final reveal between their characters, that being his conflicted attraction to his mother.

I love that movie but one thing I always found confusing and a bit unsettling is the inability to pin down the exact decade when the action is taking place purely based on art direction. There are visual clues that it could be the 80s, or, maybe, 70s, or even neo-noirish 50s or 60s. This may be a part of its appeal.

Donald E. Westlake was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay, but I don't think he won. He's one of my all-time favorite writers ever.

I love the scene near the end where Bening's flirty façade crumbles. She drops the cutesy voice about two octaves and starts spitting her lines with such venom. "You and your own mother.... you like to go back where you've been, huh?"

Elmer Bernstein's noirish score was brilliant too.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies; I've watched it dozens of times over the years. I love the music, too. As soon as I started reading this thread, it started playing in my head. Sets a chilling tone.

I didn't even know there was a book -- is it worth reading?

Annette showed tits, arse and minge in this, should have got BSA that year.

Cusack used to be so fucking cute. He aged like hell.

Loss Angle-ease.

Annette Bening was distractingly awful, IMO.

R11, I think the brilliance of her performance is that you think she is terrible then you find out that it is the character who is acting badly, not her.

Love love this movie, especially Houston and Bening. Few movies end in such desolation.

Yes, r6, and also when she gets nervous about being confused with ‘the other lady’and say amost, to convince herself, ‘No, I’m me’. She’s brilliant.