Stephen Frears - The Grifters (1990)

Based in Baltimore, thirty-nine year old Lilly Dillon has long operated on the criminal side of the law, she working for mob bookmaker Bobo Justus placing sizable bets for him at the tracks on long shots to lower the odds without detection to shield him from risk if one of those long shots were to come through. She has systematically been skimming money off the top for some time to have amassed a small fortune, which if Bobo knew may mean her life. When she is directed to place some bets at the track in La Jolla, she decides to visit her twenty-five year old Los Angeles based son, Roy Dillon, who she had when she was only fourteen and who she hasn't seen in close to a decade in their estrangement. Wanting to be his own person, Roy, in Lilly not wanting him on the grift and thus not teaching him the business, has taken it upon himself to learn the short con, he content with this nickel and dime operation in having less risk than the long con which requires multiple players working the con, the short con, which can be done alone, still not without its dangers. Despite their estrangement, there is still an unspoken bond between Lilly and Roy. While Roy cannot or chooses not to see it, Lilly, in knowing the signs, doesn't trust Roy's current girlfriend, seductive Myra Langtry, who uses her sexuality to get what she wants, often in cons. Myra has long been looking for a new partner for the long con, after her last partner in the long con, Cole Langley, had a mental breakdown, Roy the first person since Cole who she has considered the perfect person as a partner. With Bobo and marks factoring into the equation, Lilly, Roy and Myra have a tenuous interrelationship in they each looking out for their own interest, and not fully trusting anyone else on the grift especially each other.