The Grifters
Lily works for a bookie, placing bets to change the odds at the track. When her son is hospitalized after an unsuccessful con job and resultant beating, she finds that even an absentee parent has feelings for her child. This causes her own job to go wrong as well. Each of them faces the down side of the grift.
The film earned $13.4M at the global box office.
Nominated for 4 Oscars. 11 wins & 21 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
The Grifters (1990) exemplifies strategically placed narrative architecture, characteristic of Stephen Frears's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 50 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.9, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Roy Dillon runs a short con at a bar, changing twenties for tens. We see him as a successful small-time grifter operating alone in Los Angeles, confident and in control of his world.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Roy is badly injured when a bartender punches him in the stomach during a con gone wrong. He suffers internal bleeding but refuses to seek help immediately, revealing his vulnerability and the physical dangers of his profession.. At 11% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to Roy actively chooses to remain in the grift despite his injury serving as a warning. He resumes his work and becomes more entangled with both Lilly and Myra, unable to break free from the life he knows., moving from reaction to action.
At 55 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat False defeat: Lilly is brutally beaten by Bobo for skimming money. The violence reveals the true stakes of the grift - this is life and death. Simultaneously, Myra's hold on Roy strengthens as she tries to recruit him for her cons, creating a dangerous triangle., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 84 minutes (76% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Myra is killed when Lilly accidentally-on-purpose hits her with a glass during a confrontation. Roy discovers Myra's body. The whiff of death is literal - one of the three grifters is dead, and the toxic relationships have turned lethal., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 90 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Roy realizes his mother is trying to con him out of his money to fund her escape from Bobo. He sees clearly that she is incapable of genuine maternal love - she only knows how to grift, even with her own son., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Grifters's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping The Grifters against these established plot points, we can identify how Stephen Frears utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Grifters within the crime genre.
Stephen Frears's Structural Approach
Among the 9 Stephen Frears films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.1, reflecting strong command of classical structure. The Grifters takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Stephen Frears filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional crime films include The Bad Guys, Batman Forever and 12 Rounds. For more Stephen Frears analyses, see Chéri, Philomena and The Queen.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Roy Dillon runs a short con at a bar, changing twenties for tens. We see him as a successful small-time grifter operating alone in Los Angeles, confident and in control of his world.
Theme
Lilly tells Roy: "You're a precious commodity. You're like a thoroughbred. You gotta be careful." The theme of predatory relationships and the cost of the con life is established.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to the world of three grifters: Roy the short-con artist, his estranged mother Lilly who works for the mob placing bets at racetracks, and his girlfriend Myra who runs long cons. The complex, damaged relationships are established.
Disruption
Roy is badly injured when a bartender punches him in the stomach during a con gone wrong. He suffers internal bleeding but refuses to seek help immediately, revealing his vulnerability and the physical dangers of his profession.
Resistance
Roy debates whether to continue his criminal lifestyle as both Lilly and Myra orbit around him during his recovery. Lilly tries to reconnect with her son while revealing her own desperate situation with mob boss Bobo. Myra attempts to recruit Roy for bigger cons.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Roy actively chooses to remain in the grift despite his injury serving as a warning. He resumes his work and becomes more entangled with both Lilly and Myra, unable to break free from the life he knows.
Mirror World
The twisted mother-son relationship between Roy and Lilly deepens. Lilly represents what Roy could become - a grifter who has sacrificed everything, including normal human relationships, for survival in the con world.
Premise
The promise of the premise: watching three skilled con artists navigate their dangerous world. Myra demonstrates her seduction cons, Lilly her racetrack schemes for Bobo, and Roy his street-level hustles. Sexual tension and manipulation intensify between all three.
Midpoint
False defeat: Lilly is brutally beaten by Bobo for skimming money. The violence reveals the true stakes of the grift - this is life and death. Simultaneously, Myra's hold on Roy strengthens as she tries to recruit him for her cons, creating a dangerous triangle.
Opposition
Pressure intensifies from all sides. Lilly becomes more desperate, needing money to escape Bobo. Myra escalates her manipulation of Roy. The unnatural competition between mother and girlfriend takes on darker, almost incestuous undertones. Roy is caught between them.
Collapse
Myra is killed when Lilly accidentally-on-purpose hits her with a glass during a confrontation. Roy discovers Myra's body. The whiff of death is literal - one of the three grifters is dead, and the toxic relationships have turned lethal.
Crisis
Roy confronts the darkness of his world and his mother. He processes that Lilly killed Myra and contemplates his own complicity in this destructive lifestyle. The brief hope of normalcy with Myra is dead.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Roy realizes his mother is trying to con him out of his money to fund her escape from Bobo. He sees clearly that she is incapable of genuine maternal love - she only knows how to grift, even with her own son.
Synthesis
The final confrontation between mother and son. Roy refuses to give Lilly his money. The conflict escalates violently. Lilly, in pure survival mode, accidentally kills Roy. She takes his money and prepares to flee, the ultimate grifter who sacrificed her own son.
Transformation
Lilly drives away with Roy's money, screaming in anguish. The final image mirrors the opening - a grifter alone and in motion - but now she has lost everything human. The con life has consumed her completely. This is a negative transformation, a corruption arc fulfilled.