“Maybe I like where I am.”
Any time of year would be perfect for checking out both Paper Moon and The Grifters. However, since this is the time of year when folks love going back over the past films of Oscar’s history, not to mention that both have been given stunning re-issues from Criterion recently, there is no better time than the present for a rewatch. Few directors could indeed claim a better trifecta than Peter Bogdanovich’s early 70s run of The Last Picture Show, What’s Up, Doc?, and Paper Moon, with each one being rightfully labeled a true masterpiece. Meanwhile, the ever-mysterious crime drama The Grifters brought the mystery and seduction of film noir into the 90s, ushering in a resurgence for the genre that would last throughout the decade and becoming one of the ultimate examples of neo-noir.
Paper Moon
In Bogdanovich’s Paper Moon, a scheming bible salesman named Moses (Ryan O’Neal) is involuntarily tasked with delivering the newly-orphaned 9-year-old Addie (Tatum O’Neal) to her surviving relatives, picking up a fortune hunter named Trixie (Madeline Kahn) along the way, and becoming an unlikely duo in the process.
Bogdanovich’s film does right by the era it takes place in with the depression-era Dust Bowl setting coming through in every shot of Paper Moon, especially in the various characters that Addie and Moses encounter. Although a wonderfully dialogue-driven experience, Paper Moon is rich with memorable action-driven sequences. The elaborate prank that Addie and her young accomplice Imogene (P.J. Johnson) play on Moses and Trixie is perfectly pitched, as is the escape from the police that Addie and Moses attempt after the latter gets them arrested for bootlegging. Less memorable, but still so telling, is the moment in the photo booth at a state fair where, with no family of her own, Addie poses by herself. It’s a scene made especially moving by the fact that the young girl never lets go of the idea that Moses may be her father and gives the movie’s poster, which depicts both of them on the paper moon, even more poignancy.
The unstoppable engine at the heart of Paper Moon can be found in the fantastic chemistry between the two O’Neals. Both actors have such a winning shorthand on the screen, which is a surprise given how, by all accounts, the pair were not as close in real life as most fathers and daughters. There’s an added emotional layer in watching Paper Moon with its tale of a little girl secretly believing that this man she finds herself drawn to could be the father she’s never known. For the older O’Neal this had to be art imitating life on a variety of levels while for director Bogdanovich, the movie could well be read as his way of understanding fatherhood, given how he had two young daughters at the time. Nowhere is the emotion of Paper Moon more present, however, than in the instance where Moses tells Addie (frustrated by constantly being referred to as a boy) that she’s beautiful.
Paper Moon scored enough Oscar nominations to prevent anyone from saying the film was ignored. Apart from its nomination for sound, screenwriter Alvin Sargeant enjoyed a well-deserved nod for the movie’s screenplay. Ultimately, The Exorcist took the wins in both categories. But the bulk of the attention when it came to Paper Moon was in the supporting actress category where both O’Neal and Kahn found themselves nominated. Although O’Neal is in nearly every frame of the film, and despite other awards bodies declaring her the film’s star, the Academy didn’t think a lead Oscar should be awarded to someone whose career was very clearly just beginning, eventually awarding her the prize in a category she didn’t belong in. Bogdanovich agreed that his young actress was miscategorized, as did Kahn, who, quite honestly, deserved to win thanks to the bravado, desperation, and sadness she gave to Trixie, illustrating all of the above in one breathtaking monologue. To this day, O’Neal holds the record for the youngest person to win a competitive Oscar, while her performance is the longest to ever win in that category.
The Grifters
In this adaptation of the Jim Thompson novel from director Frears, a trio of con artists, including mob employee Lilly (Angelica Huston), her estranged small-time scammer son Roy (John Cusack), and his mysterious girlfriend Myra (Annette Bening) find the darkness of the world they inhabit closing in on them in ways none of them see coming.
Any chance of Frears being pigeonholed as the result of the success he received with Dangerous Liaisons was certainly put to rest in the opening moments of The Grifters. The initial introduction to each character via split screen is mysterious and electrifying, giving us a slight, carefully measured glimpse into the people at the center of this deceptively engrossing tale. Watching Lilly, Roy, and Myra perform their cons with ease and believability is totally hypnotic, making this the quintessential L.A. 90s neo-noir. The way Frears captures the city calls to mind the classic noir landscape of the 40s, making the landscape feel utterly timeless even though it’s very clearly 1990. Even though the two films couldn’t be more different, it’s easy to see how the character/actor dynamics mirror those of Dangerous Liaisons, with another triangle at the center of a dark, passion-filled tale.
Even though it’s not as plot-driven as one would expect, it’s the characters themselves that give The Grifters its true mystery. The way Lilly becomes not just protective of Roy, but fiercely protective, is touching, and does show that there is a human side to this woman who had no choice but to be tough for so long. She’s a stark contrast to Myra, who acts like the world is her playground and is ripe for the picking. As for Roy, there’s no question that he operates as if he’s in a 40s movie. He doesn’t know any other world and, most importantly, he doesn’t seem to want to know any other world. Beyond just carrying the mystique of noir, The Grifters is never afraid to pull any punches. A pivotal scene between Lilly and her gangster boss (Pat Hingle) featuring a bag of oranges is appropriately tense, as is the Greek tragedy of the final scene between her and Roy. When the film does get plot-focused in the end, it only becomes a more tantalizing experience thanks to these characters and the world around them that they’ve helped to shape.
By all accounts, the Academy loved The Grifters, bestowing nominations for Donald E. Westlake’s screenplay, Frears’ direction, and the performances of Huston and Bening. It only takes one viewing of the film to see that each of these nominations makes sense. The script is full of noir gems like: “He’s so crooked, he eats soup with a corkscrew,” while Frears directs with the kind of steady hand and admiration for the genre needed to make it all work. Huston breathes fresh life into the femme fatale by injecting careful amounts of humanity into her as Bening manages her own incarnation, culminating in a monologue that changes everything we thought we knew about her character. It’s unfortunate that Elmer Bernstein’s mesmerizing score and Oliver Stapleton’s stunning cinematography couldn’t have added to the movie’s Oscar nods, especially given how much they added to The Grifters as a dizzying cinematic experience. Released just in time for consideration, a strategy that (mostly) worked to the movie’s advantage, both Frears and Westlake ended up losing to Kevin Costner and Michael Blake for Dances with Wolves. Meanwhile, Kathy Bates and Whoopi Goldberg won over the film’s nominated ladies for their turns in Misery and Ghost, respectively in a year where the competition was just too strong.
It’s worth noting that both The Grifters and Paper Moon were films about con artists. Such individuals have been the subject of countless films throughout cinema history, but so rarely have the Oscars embraced them in the way they have these two specific examples. Some could make the case that maybe the reason they didn’t take home more than they did in terms of Oscar gold was due to certain members wrestling with the moral aspects of both titles. Ultimately, however, the Oscar outcomes of Paper Moon and The Grifters can be more or less chalked up to the films and artists they were nominated against. The Exorcist, Misery, Ghost, and Dances with Wolves are all classics that deserved the awards love they received at the time. But if Criterion’s tribute to both releases shows anything, it’s that the films last, regardless of how much hardware they take home.
Paper Moon and The Grifters are both available on Blu-ray and DVD from The Criterion Collection.
