The Grifters
Written by Donald E. Westlake
Based on a novel by Jim Thompson
Directed by Stephen Frears
To know Lloyd Dobler is to love him. Diane Court is about to get to know Lloyd Dob…wait. Sorry, that’s the wrong film. But I don’t think you can blame me because almost anyone and everyone my age knows John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler. Even if you’be seen Grosse Point Blank, High Fidelity, and the 86 other credits he has on IMDB, he’s freaking Lloyd Dobler.
And if I can say anything with an ounce of truth to it, its this. Lloyd Dobler shouldn’t be anywhere near this movie.
I’ve got a strong love for crime-ridden films. Hell, for over a year I wrote about them every day. If the names Donald E. Westlake and Jim Thompson aren’t familiar to you go ahead and take a moment to Google them. The men are GIANTS in their respective fiels and are both known for writing particularly brutal books that focus on some rather hard edged men. Under the name Richard Stark, Westlake wrote the Parker series, which has seen a few adaptations starring the likes of Jason Statham, Lee Marvin, Jim Brown, Robert Duvall, Peter Coyote, and Mel Gibson. So you can see the type of guy we’re supposed to be dealing with, right?
I like John Cusack quite a bit, but the man is soft compared to any of those actors, and in no way should he have been cast in this movie.
The Grifters tells the tale of Roy Dillon (Cusack) a small time conman who has some women trouble in his life. His mother Lilly (Anjelica Houston) has been working the grift her entire life and is in the service of the mean, hard as nails, despite the name, Bobo Justus (Pat Hingle.) During a visit, Lilly has to take a near death Roy to the hospital, and in doing so she is late on her duties to Bobo, which puts her in his dangerous crosshairs. It’s there she meets Roy’s sweet-heart Myra (Annette Bening) another grifter who has plans of her own for Roy. Everything soon becomes a tight web of lies and cons as each character plays their own angles so that they can come out on top.
Cusack is in over his head here. To be fair to him, putting him up against Angelica Huston in any scene is placing him squarely behind the eight ball and the poor lad doesn’t stand a chance. Huston owns every scene she’s in and her confrontational car ride with Bobo is easily the highlight of the film. Bening, now a well-respected and award-winning actress, was just at the beginning of her career but she throws everything into her role, seducing every man she shares the screen with.
Poor Lloyd Dobler didn’t stand a chance.
The film is still quite enjoyable because it’s a great script and is well directed by Stephen Frears, but I can only think on how much an actor like River Phoenix or Kiefer Sutherland could have brought to the role.
3 stars out of 5.
