"Routledge focus" -- Cover. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
Con artist's comeuppance and cure: Matchstick men -- Revenge and self-knowledge: House of games -- The femme fatale as con artist: Body heat -- Improvising on the run: The last seduction -- Con game as prelude to love: Birthday -- The game of brotherly love.
Summary:
"This book examines the con artist film as a genre, exploring its main features while also addressing variations within it. The volume explores three diverse themes of the con artist film: edification, self-awareness, and liberation through con games; the femme fatale as con artist; and romantic love as a plot point. Analysing movies such as Matchstick Men (2003), House of Games (1987), Body Heat (1981), The Last Seduction (1994), Birthday Girl (2001), and The Game (1997), the book also explores their psychological investigation of the con artist figure, the con artist's mark, and how the dynamic between these roles implicates us as the audience. It also addresses the con artist film genre's close association with neo-noir, especially through the femme fatale figure, investigating and updating the rich tradition of noir film. Demonstrating the range and flexibility of this understudied genre, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of film studies, ethics, and those studying the representation of women in film"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.