The Grifters (film)

The Grifters is a 1990 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Stephen Frears, produced by Martin Scorsese, and starring John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, and Annette Bening. The film follows a lifelong con artist (Huston) who reunites with her estranged son (Cusack) and, along with his girlfriend (Bening), becomes embroiled in a complex web of criminal activity. The screenplay by Donald E. Westlake was adapted from Jim Thompson's 1963 novel.

The Grifters premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 1990, and was released by Miramax Films in the United States on December 5, 1990. Huston and Bening both received Academy Award nominations for their performances in the film, while Huston also garnered a Golden Globe Award nomination, and Bening, a BAFTA Award nomination. Frears received an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, and Westlake for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film and was named one of the Top 10 films of 1990 by the National Board of Review.