It's time for a rare pulptastic two-fer. Jim Thompson was one of the most interesting crime fiction writers ever. In the 1990's, a whole bunch of his books were brought to the silver screen:a remake of The Getaway, After Dark, My Sweet and the cream of the crop, The Grifters. It's the touching tale of traditional con artist family values. The film version was produced by Martin Scorsese, directed by Stephen Frears and faithfully adapted for the screen by Donald E. Westlake.
First, the pulpilicious book cover:
The poster is nothing special unlike the movie itself, which features an amazing, star making performance by Annette Bening as a Gloria Grahame-style femme fatale:
It's trailer time, kids:
I don’t remember why I saw the movie but I did. Powerful story and movie. Excellent performances all around. Not sure I could see it again — some scenes replay in my mind and I still find them upsetting (for example, explaining using oranges in a towel to hit a person and the results of same). But I’m pleased (more appropriate than glad) that I saw the movie.