Diamond-hard and mesmerizing… Bening and Cusack are perfection at what they are doing, she twinkly as any rhinestone, he dangerously passive; it's hardly their fault that Huston is the motor of the piece and so ferociously seductive that one cannot look away from her. [5 Dec 1990]Read Full Review »
100
The New York Times: Vincent Canby
The Grifters moves with swift unsentimental resolve toward a last act as bleak as any in recent American screen literature. In a less skillful work, it would be a downer. The Grifters is so good that one leaves the theater on a spellbound high. [5 Dec 1990]Read Full Review »
100
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Owen Gleiberman
The movie is pulp, yet it attains a surprising emotional power-especially when Anjelica Huston's Lilly, a survivor who'll do whatever it takes to master her surroundings, is on-screen.Read Full Review »
90
Washington Post: Desson Thomson
If Frears and screenwriter Donald E. Westlake (who scripted "The Stepfather") are light on substance, they're satisfyingly heavy on nuance. Grifters may not blow you away afterward but it keeps your attention riveted during.Read Full Review »
80
Washington Post: Hal Hinson
[Huston] brings a vital conviction to her scenes; they're scorchingly immediate, and her ability to get in sync with what Lily's feeling is what gives the movie weight. She may be the best we have.Read Full Review »
70
Time: Richard Corliss
Best to savor The Grifters for its handsome design -- the picture looks as clean as a Hockney landscape -- and its juicy performances. [11 Feb 1991]Read Full Review »
63
USA Today: Mike Clark
More than anything, The Grifters isn't dramatically shot; black-and-white would have made a huge difference. [5 Dec 1990]Read Full Review »
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