(for a full summary of the film, scroll down to "What Happens?" below. )
The characters in "The Grifters" are career criminals, but not the type seen in your standard mob/gang movie. It would seem that being a grifter is a career only for the fiercely independent and mentally agile and with a large streak of a gambler's compulsion. While characters in mob movies may end up betraying their bosses, the three grifters presented here, would be destined to do so from the moment they pretended to have a boss. As Roy's mentor, Mintz says "Grifters got an irresistible urge to beat a guy who's wise. There's nothing to whipping a fool. Hell, fools are made to be whipped. But, to take another pro, even your partner, who knows you, and has his eye on you, that's a score, no matter what happens." This is an odd and brutal game where only the winner really knows the score and whatever triumph he/she might feel belong to him or her alone, as by nature they'd have no one to share it with. These characters don't really have relationships as much as prepared situations with someone about to be taken. Even their most personal relationships boil down to long cons. This is a completely demanding lifestyle, and the only moment the con is not going is when each character is alone, and even then they're likely plotting the details. As a con man's career relies on being sincere and likeable, it's easy to get drawn in to their charm and unconventional wit. The con doesn't stop when you learn they're con men, it's similar to Cole telling a mark that the transaction is illegal, and watches the man hook himself. The danger is part of the allure, and allows him to be comfortable with something that's too good to be true. For a moment, the mark knows how the grifter thinks of himself, a little smarter than the rest of the world.
Stephen Frears provides a unique film experience, using Elmer Bernstein's score as a powerful tool giving a looming sense of danger as while as dark celebration at times conjuring the sense of a menacing carnival, which is certainly appropriate as the traditional grifter is often associated with travelling carnies, a natural source of new marks, a subculture withing a subculture of permanent transience. Everything in the movie looks sharp and authentic so much so that details like Lilly's blonde hair stand out. Until the end, even the violence looks good. I would think it's no accident that Roy's beating gives only internal injuries as if even dying, there can't be an obvious mess. The film recalls the past, but brought up to date and not looking better for the shift.
Roy is our most average character and the center of the story as it's he that ties Myra and Lilly together. It's his injury that causes Lilly to screw up, a concern you would imagine she's had for a long time. Lilly is right about Roy in that he "doesn't have the stomach" to be a grifter. While he's charming and has a few skills, he doesn't have the edge that Myra and Lilly do. He lacks a mean streak and you get the sense that he's simply trying to find an amusing way to make a living. By comparison to the women, it would seem that Roy is dabbling in a game that requires total devotion. He's content to make a few bucks here and there not taking anyone for enough to make them care, until he finds the wrong bartender and realizes that as much as a grifter likes to take someone, there are those that despise the takers, no matter the amount. That's the heart of the lifestyle, and Roy doesn't get it. A lot of the appeal to him is that it allows him to be a "self made man." We see that he's insistent to Lilly that "I pay my debts." He mentions to Myra that he left home with only things he himself had paid for. THis is not a good attitude for a grifter who would more naturally be proud that he left home having stolen all of Lilly's things. His misplaced work ethic doesn't do him any favors. He can't get past issues with Lilly, having acted as if he were her brother when he was a child, he sees her more as a disloyal peer than a mother, and as everyone but he himself can see he has a vulnerability around his Oedipus complex. Unfortunately for him, that's not even sacred to a real grifter, Myra or Lilly. He wants to have a relationship with Lilly, but he can't understand what she is or what she's capable of to survive as she herself points out. He's quick to grab the opportunity to play Lilly's moral authority, having perhaps hoped for the chance his whole life, but in the end, he's a twenty five year old kid without enough cynicism to really play the game. Roy unlike Myra and Lilly is content to be just so comfortable, and so is surprised at their insatiable grasping for more. John Cusack is perfect for the role and pulls off a likeable rogue, perpetually smirking at a private joke. The role fits in well with his other screen roles. He's not unlike Lloyd Dobler in "Say ANything" although this time he's in way over his head.
Myra is another matter. SHe's eternally calculating, and the consummate grifter. Her every waking moment is a con, from paying her rent to having a boyfriend. Given what we see of her, we can assume that before she knows that Roy is a con man, she's already working him for something. Her delight at seeing Roy con the sailor's is beautiful, as if she's finally found the perfect way to "take" him. Myra is a specialist, using her body as her tool. Her easy exhibitionism tells her story. She doesn't even bother with seduction or lingerie, just presenting her whole body as if she's impossible to turn away. It's possible that she really wants to partner up with Roy, as the long con she describes would require a male partner, yet when she tells Roy he needs to come up with $20,000.00 for his end, it seems more likely that Roy is just a short con on the way to the long one. We can believe that she misses the long con, but how she reenters the lifestyle is not likely something she shares with Roy but even if they had become partners, Roy's fears about being conned himself are well justified, as Mintz pointed out, "But, to take another pro, even your partner, who knows you, and has his eye on you, that's a score, no matter what happens." She has no knowledge of Mintz's advice to Roy, and assumes that Lilly is responsible for thwarting her. This shows us the hard nature of a "successful" grifter, as she casually puts Lilly's life in danger, both to punish her, and hoping to take her money. It's not her fault that she underestimates Lilly, who is capable of anything at all. Annette Benning is extraordinry in a unique role. Her Myra is calculating deranged and alluring and convincing as a cold blooded schemer who's practiced at seeming warm.
Lilly is the real star of the movie and Anjelica Huston is brilliant presenting a natural predator, who doesn't even realize her nature. She's like a shark, in that she doesn't ponder her actions but has to keep moving or drown. She has been a grifter her whole life, and working for Bobo has found a golden opportunity with access to easy money, and regular employment while she continues to steal money. Bobo even expects her to steal as she shows when she recites his speech back to him "If he's not stealing a little, he's stealing a lot." Of course the difference between a little and a lot is ambiguous, especially over time. Much relies on the appearance of order, and when Bobo is tipped off, he has no choice to take action even though her actions could well have been well within what was expected of her. That's the hazard of having a "boss." although the premise of working for someone would seem to be part of her grift. The fact that Lilly would work her grift on someone as dangerous as Bobo shows her dedication to the lifestyle. Her quick turnaround of Myra's murder attempt shows that she's the ultimate opportunist, quick witted enough to try and salvage any situation. Her strong dislike for Myra, aside from objections "anyone would have." concerning her son, are likely based on an instant recognition. They recognize each other as full time and dedicated operators, and instinctual competition.
She is not emotionless and we see that she does have feelings for her son Roy, as this causes her to uncharacteristically screw up. From Roy and her accounts, this is not the first time her son has been a liability to her lifestyle. And much like she becomes temporarily lulled by steady employment, she thinks that she can reconcile in some way with Roy. She herself, forgets her own nature until she has no choice but to turn back to it. Once she does, all bets are off. She thinks nothing off attempting to seduce her own son, because there is nothing in the world more important to her than surviving. As She she tells Roy "I'm a survivor. I survive." She warns him that he has no idea what she's capable of, and attempts to take the money through conversation, but she also begins an escalation that can onlty end with her leaving with it, no matter what the outcome for Roy. She likely didn't mean to kill him, but neither does that stop her once in motion. She can mourn her son at her leisure while surviving. SHe will likely end up in the same situation all over again, and she will also likely survive. At what cost, is a consideration she gave up on a long time ago.
Ultimately, "The Grifters" is a mean spirited film about ruthless people being charming for as long as they can. Everyone has something to prove and due to the nature of the grifter, only one of them can really prove it. It's easy to get drawn in to the charm of a man or woman against the world living on his/her wits, at least until we're brought all the way to the downside, which is simply the fact that this leaves you all alone in the world. Lilly gets away and lives, but she hardly gets a happy ending. Roy is a goner as soon as we realize he isn't committed.Caught between Lilly and Myra, anything that has a heart is going to be a casualty. To use Mintz's quote one more time, "But, to take another pro, even your partner, who knows you, and has his eye on you, that's a score, no matter what happens." seems right on the money. Lilly taking Roy is a score, and we see "no matter what happens." vividly illustrated. We might have a tendency to see a score as a happy event, but in their terminology, happy has nothing to do with anything. These people buy and sell confidence. For true grifters like Myra and Lilly, a score is just the marker that tells you you're still alive. Anything but total dedication to it can be fatal as Roy would tell you. Play the game or go straight, there isn't any room for dabblers.
What Happens?
Grifters starts out with a quote from "The Lady is a Tramp" a song by Hart and Rodgers, "I've wined and dined on mulligan stew/and never wished for turkey,/As I hitched and hiked and grifted too/ from Maine to Albuquerque..." before giving the credits over changing views of city skylines.
