Two sharp adaptations of the stories of Jim Thompson.
We know your watching time is limited. And the amount of things available to watch … is not. Looking for a movie? Nearly any movie ever made? It's probably streaming somewhere. That's a lot of movies. |
Below, we're suggesting two of them, the latest of our weekly double-feature recommendations. We think the movies will pair well — with each other and with you. |
Your weekly double feature: Jim Thompson |
 | | Annette Bening in a scene from "The Grifters."Miramax |
|
'The Grifters' and 'After Dark, My Sweet' |
There's an edge of psychosis and nihilism to the work of the crime novelist Jim Thompson, but his characters often break down more simply into two types of people: The con artist and the mark. That did not necessarily prevent a con artist from becoming a mark or a mark from getting one over on the con artist. But such is the nature of antihero transaction. |
Two sharp Thompson adaptations helped kick off the wave of indie neo-noirs that hit art houses in the early 1990s. Now streaming on HBO Max, Stephen Frears's "The Grifters" (1990) has a disarmingly playful tone that masks heavy Freudian overtones and the rotten-to-the-core deviousness of its characters. John Cusack stars as a small-timer whose loyalties are torn between two better and more ambitious grifters: one a bubbly sexpot looking to partner up on a long con (Annette Bening, in a breakthrough performance), and the other his distant mother (Anjelica Huston), who fixes horse-racing odds for a dangerous bookie. The three characters are set on a collision course that ends in the requisite twists, but the film has a more emotional tug than expected. |
Although it didn't get nearly as much attention at the time, "After Dark, My Sweet" (1990) effectively updates Thompson's 1955 novel, and its setting, an arid desert outside Palm Springs, underlines the loneliness and existential dream of a true Thompsonian loser. A brooding Jason Patric plays an ex-boxer and escaped mental patient, making him the ideal mark for a couple of schemers who can take advantage of his strength and vulnerability. It doesn't take long for him to fall for a sexy widow (Rachel Ward) and it doesn't take much longer than that for her sleazy ex-cop friend (Bruce Dern) to bring him in on a kidnapping plot. His survival, here as in the ring, depends on whether he can see the punch coming. SCOTT TOBIAS |
Like this email?
Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here. |
Tips and advice to help you live a little smarter
Since you receive Watching, we think you'll like the Smarter Living newsletter as well. Every Monday, get a weekly roundup of the best advice from The Times on living a better, more fulfilling life. Sign up here. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.