The Grifters

Dir: Stephen Frears, 1990 (9.0*)
Based on a novel by Jim Thompson, and scripted by crime author Donald Westlake, this is a crime thriller about a trio of con artists (aka "grifters"), Angelica Huston, who fixes odds at racetracks for the mob, her son John Cusack, and a expert grifter he meets (and desires), Annette Bening. This is the best of its type, blending a 40’s style noir novel into an 80’s style film, with superb acting all around.