FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE Stephen Frears - The Grifters  

I don't like normal burglars who constantly break into my shop, or those who take my money because they are stronger or more dangerous than me. But I like tricksters, because they steal my money because they are smarter. And there is no trickster who is not likeable, because how else would she get our money? That's why con artist films are so seductive: they ask us a fundamental question of a moral nature. Of course we want justice to prevail - but at the same time we are fascinated by the audacity of the con artist! Con artists are sweet and gentle - and yet harm their victims. In Stephen Frear's The Grifters, however, there are no victims at all, because all those involved are con artists and impostors. Frears has translated the novel from the 1950s into the present day. This works because the underlying story is universal. It's about a love triangle. Here come: Lover + lover + authority figure who wants to separate the lovers. The lover is a con man named Roy Dillon (John Cusack). The lover's name is Myra Langtry (Annette Bening); she is young and sexy (and presumably older than she lets on). She is certainly more dangerous than Roy suspects! The authority figure is Roy's mother Lily (Anjelica Huston), who has been cheating since early childhood. She sees everyone as a potential victim, including her son, of course. Myra has been around a lot, worked as a decoy for many big con men. Lily works mainly at the racetrack - of course. Roy is not in Lily's league and spends his time on petty stuff. At one point we see him trying to change a $20 note in a bar and.... Anyway, the bartender catches him and beats up Roy. At the hospital, Myra and Lily meet for the first time. extend their claws. At that moment, Roy doesn't know he's doomed. Myra and Lily, however, care more about winning than loving (if they know the concept of love at all). And Roy? Perhaps he lives all too easily? The Grifters was the first American production by Stephen Frears, who was part of the new wave in England during the 80s. Have a look in our director section in the basement: My Beautiful Laundrette (DVD9349), Prick Up Your Ears (DVD10550) and and and... Frears' films are about the labyrinth of passion in which characters deceive others about the true nature of their love. The world of The Grifters is also one of cynicism and despair, in which the characters put up an outer façade but are inwardly plagued by guilt and doubt. It is the world of film noir. In it acts Roy, a boy with burning ambition but no talent. Lily never accepted that THIS should be her son! And Myra is somewhere between sexy, vulnerable and dangerous - a femme fatale. Around this Frears spins a plot in which everything falls into place, no questions left unanswered. This is a plot film! Why do impostors do what they do? Why do they need to win our love, our trust, only to betray us? In The Grifters, it's pretty clear that they're caught up in a pattern that goes back to childhood. They're trying to get revenge. Poor Roy. He thinks he's a big con man when all he wants to do is find a person to love. A person who won't cheat on him.