150 Word Review: 'The Grifters' (1990)
You're pretty old enough to be Roy's mother.
In Stephen Frear's sunny L.A. noir The Grifters, Angelica Huston's bleach-blonde hair is pure misdirection. It's part of her character's long, long con. She looks cold and hard, like a statue of a goddess of war or beauty, but she's a squirmer, a sniveler, a screamer. She'll scratch your eyes out if she has to. Her son wants to follow in her footsteps, but mommy knows best: his belly's too soft, and he has no claws. Former teen heartthrob John Cusack plays Lilly's baby-faced spawn, Roy, with aching vulnerability. He wants to be bad so badly.
And then there's his girlfriend, another sweet-talking swindler with big plans that don't include dear mother. As the new woman in Roy's life, Annette Bening is a seductive small-time viper. The movie is sexy and springy, which is all part of the hustle. Huston's elevator to hell is chilling. She's taken the ride before.