Roy Dillon (John Cusack) is a hustler, strictly small-time, penny ante grifts. Low reward but low risk. His mother, Lilly (Anjelica Huston), is in the big leagues. She travels around horse tracks, playing down long odds to pad the bookies' takes. Roy and Lilly haven't spoken since Roy was 17 but when he ends up in the hospital, she drops everything to take care of him. This pisses off his girlfriend, Myra (Annette Bening), who rightfully views Lilly as a threat. Myra is also a hustler, desperate to get back in the top levels of con artistry after her last partner (J. T. Walsh) cracked up. Roy doesn't want anything to do with that, either.
It's so weird watching a movie that actively hates women even as it tries to portray them as well-realized. Lilly and Myra move poor, innocent Roy around their diabolical chessboard, subjecting him to their feminine wiles that he is helpless to resist even as he virtuously refuses to be part of their machinations. It's very Freudian. Also, Annette Bening gets naked a lot. That may or may not influence your decision to see this. You probably shouldn't. Like I said, it's not great. It is available on Paramount+, though.
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