Grifters (Criterion) 4K 01/25 Blu-ray (Rental)

Under the glare of the Los Angeles sun, a pitch-black neo-noir simmers in British director Stephen Frears's energetic take on the novel by pulp master Jim Thompson. A controlling mother (Anjelica Huston), her jaded son (John Cusack), and his manipulative, alluring girlfriend (Annette Bening) are professional con artists warily orbiting one another in an intricate emotional long con that grows uglier as affection and trust give way to treachery and buried Oedipal tensions come to the fore. In his Hollywood debut, the confident Frears and his trio of compelling performers create an atmospheric, timeless portrait of a rotten America.