Film Roar

Grifters and Con Men

Grifter movies such as David Mamet's House of Games (1987), Stephen Frears' The Grifters (1990), Ocean's Eleven (2001) or Bryan Singer's The Usual Suspects have long held a special interest for me. I am not sure why this is, but I suspect it is because the roles in these movies require strong acting, intelligent editing, and, most importantly, top-notch acting.

An effective story about a confidence game has to be able to dupe the audience into the con being perpetrated on screen. The thrill in the movie comes from paying close attention to nuance as you play the game along with the characters. Good thrillers have that moment of revelation when all the pieces start to come together, all the clues are put into play, and all the secrets are revealed. Part of the joy of a con movie is that you know there is a swindle taking place. If you pay enough attention and read the characters, not just what they are saying, but what they are thinking, you can anticipate what is "really going on." Sometimes this game can get a bit tired, as with Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner (1997). Having seen a number of Mamet movies (some like House of Games over and over) The Spanish Prisoner became a bit clichéd. I could see deception coming a bit too far ahead to get that thrill of revelation. Other movies like The Usual Suspects had me going until the very end.

When I stop to think about it, the real interest in con movies is probably born more from my love of sociology and psychology than from anything else. I love to learn and think about how people think and react. I love the idea of a mind trick, especially one that is sophisticated enough to dupe a sharp individual. Grifters are nothing if not top notch, on-the-stop sociologists. They learn how to size a mark up, make a guess as to what makes the person tick, figure out how that person will react to different stimuli, and then choose to put on some act carefully selected to elicit the proper response. The magic behind a confidence game is that people want to believe in things that are not real, so with a little help they make them real in their minds.

A great con movie is written as a treatise on the human condition. The story betrays the games we all play with each other and with ourselves as we fool our minds into belonging to a more appealing reality than the one we face. To do justice to the subject, the writing and the acting both have to be top notch.

A list of movies about cons:

House of Games (1987) - David Mamet is the undisputed master of the Con. This is probably my favorite movie on the subject, though I may be biased by this probably having been the first real con movie I ever saw, and it having been filmed in an area of Seattle familiar to me.

The Spanish Prisoner (1997) - Probably Mamet's best known con movie, but not his best work by far.

Wag the Dog (1997) - Co-written by Mamet, this is a great comedy about a con pulled on the American public by their government.

The Grifters (1990) - Probably my second favorite movie in this genre. Angelica Huston plays a character stronger than any I have seen on screen for a while since.

Ocean's Eleven (2001) - Not subtle nor very intelligent, but very amusing and it did have a great 'oh my god, that is what has been going on all this time' plot twist.

The Usual Suspects (1995) - One of the best movies of the 90s. Strong writing and a strong cast.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) - Not your typical thriller, but a good comedy that makes fun of the con game as well as of the con film genre.

Memento (2000) - Who is trying to fool whom into doing what? Great movie, worth seeing twice just to try to figure out what is going on.

L.A. Confidential (1997) - Oddly enough I did not like this movie very much. It bears mention though as it does have all the elements of "here are the clues, now you figure out what is going on."

The Shawshank Redemption, (1994) - A masterful movie. On my list of The Best Movies You've Never Seen.

Bound (1996) - Who's fooling whom? Watch to the end to find out.

Catch Me If You Can (2002) - The movie that got me thinking about this genre again. A very well made film about a professional forger and confidence artist. Worth the price of admission.

What other movies should be on the list? Please post your additions and your comments!