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Storyline
Lily works for a bookie, placing bets to change the odds at the track. When her son is hospitalized after an unsuccessful con job and resultant beating, she finds that even an absentee parent has feelings for her child. This causes her own job to go wrong as well. Each of them faces the down side of the grift. Written by
John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Taglines:
Seduction. Betrayal. Murder. Who's Conning Who?
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Did You Know?
Goofs
In the train, when Roy is grifting the sailors, you can see
that he is only rolling one die at a time. However, you can distinctly hear him drop two dice (out of the frame) to the table at the end of the game.
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Quotes
[
first lines]
Voice-over:
Around the country the bookies pay off winners at track odds. It's dangerous when a long shot comes in. Unless you have somebody at the tracks to lower those odds.
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Soundtracks
DO YOU DO YOU LOVE ME
Performed by Dreamworld
Words & Music by
Pete Theodore and
Emilie A. Bernstein (as Emily Bernstein)
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"The Grifters" is a quality piece of work that shows you a world you don't often see. It's a seedy little world, but a fun one to spend two hours in.
Whenever I pass this film on cable, I always stop to watch a few minutes (and often more) because it contains some fantastic acting. Anjelica Houston, John Cusack and Annete Bening act their little tushies off. Cusack's portrayal of a low-level grifter with an Oedipal complex the size of Texas is some of his best work. Based on "American Beauty," everyone knows that Bening can act, but anyone who saw "The Grifters" knew that long ago. She does a bang-up job as (let's be frank) a con-artist slut.
This movie does have a few implausibilities, but nothing that spoils it. Otherwise, nothing but good things to say about this one. Recommended.