The novel I decided to indulge my mind in was The Grifters by Jim Thompson. I searched around on many book reviews before coming to the decision to read this novel in particular. The plot seemed to have a type a twist that one would find in today's movies, which also seemed to grab my interest. I'd like to say my suspicions were right and I was thoroughly satisfied with my interpretation and selection. With that being said, the novel was eventually scripted into cinematic format, of which I was able to read and view to further understand the setting with visual aid. Although the quality of the media are located on two very different spectrums. The Grifters revolves around the twisted and unpredictable life of a con man by the name of Roy Dillon and his relationship between his mother , Lilly Dillon, and his strikingly similar girlfriend Moria Langry. This bizarre “love triangle” in which the mother con raises a son con who makes love with a “sister” (meaning fellow) con who despises the mother con. A type of three way deadlock which concludes in a dark and perplexing irony, which brings the mother to the point of a joyful insanity.
At first, with my evaluation of the critiques, I had expected a compelling story with a censored quality from the 50's, being published in 1963. The novel itself however hardly had any indication of the time period, so I concluded it must have been placed at that present decade, if not earlier. The movie based on the novel was placed in what appeared to be 1990, which was when the film was produced, which added some quirky additions to the plot that didn't communicate though the novel. The settings lend themselves to the imagination within the boundaries of Los Angeles and other surrounding areas, such as La Jolla in San Diego. However the manner in which the story is depicted provides a clear and definitive placement of characters around several areas of Los Angeles. To my surprise, the language and dialogue adds a “sophisticated” slang to it, which offers to amplify the shifty and eluding mood of the grift. The film fails to offer such luxuries, which lessens the characters quality of being sly and smooth. The novel humored me genuine ly, while the film was just humorous in its appearance itself. I was particularly entertained by some lines in the novel that had some connectivity to the slang we use even today by our younger generation:
“But—She shook herself mentally—to hell with that noise.”
-Lilly Dillon.
What I had received from the novel as it places itself in the generation it was published and a book in itself, was that no matter what time period, the genera “pulp fiction” still holds a certain standard of corrupt action. The new type of gritty, twisted set of events that has a sense of suspense with a modern appeal. The film had the opportunity to push the limits of the novels plot, however, failed in attaining a serious attitude, which is vital to the type of business the characters are involved in. Its a train jumping the tracks, unlike the usually predictable story where the “good guy” gets the girl and in turn changes the world. That facade is far from the actual conclusion of the novel presented here. It offers a new pathway for written work thats hardly been traversed. It offers the opportunity to eliminate the “predictability” of all novels, which genuinely makes a great novel.
