My 150 Favorite Movies - #49

The Grifters (1990)

Annette Bening made a big splash early on in her cinematic career with The Grifters, a terrifically creepy neo-noir directed by Stephen Frears, with a screenplay by Donald E. Westlake, based on the novel by Jim Thompson. Everyone brings their a-game, including Anjelica Huston and John Cusack, as mother and son con artists. The film was nominated for a number of Academy Awards, and won Best Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards.