Usual Suspects
Mystery films that keep the viewer guessing and then rocks them with a ābig revealā at the end are nothing new. Some are good, some are bad, and some are classics. This 1995 thriller from Bryan Singer (which allowed him to go on the A-list and make some overblown comic book films) definitely falls into the category of āclassicā. It involves 5 assorted criminals brought together to work (unwillingly) for a crime bossā¦scratch that, THE crime boss known as Keyser Soze, an either Turkish or Hungarian underworld leader whom, we are told, is known to and feared by every criminal the world over, the living epitome of The Devil himself. Of course, in order for the entire film to work, one must literally be sold on the quasi mythological aspects of such a character, and Singer along with screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie and the majority of the rest of the cast do just that, keeping the legend alive and real everytime we watch the movie, and the fact that the film actually snagged two Oscars for Screenwriting and Supporting Actor attests to that. The majority of the film consists of a battle of wills during a heated interrogation between an obsessed customs agent played by Chazz Palminteri and one of the criminals played by Supporting Actor Winner Kevin Spacey, a crippled pickpocket and professional confidence artist. Through Spacey we are given the backstory of what has happened involving him and the four other criminals he was joined up with, starting with Stephen Baldwinās loose cannon with nerves of steel McManus, always talking shit and never backing down from the cops or even his own comrades; Benicio Del Toro as his partner in crime Fenster, an amazing scene stealing turn in its own right as the then unknown Del Toro, knowing he was cast in a throwaway part as a guy whose purpose was to be killed to teach the others a lesson, developed his own unique (and hilarious) dialect for the role (kind of a guy who speaks perfect English yet pretends not to in order to throw people off) that makes him entertaining everytime heās onscreen and makes the viewer wish he was kept around longer. Then thereās Kevin Pollak as the hardcase weapons expert Hockney, a guy clearly out for himself who has several verbal confrontations with McManus, and ironically Baldwin and Pollak had a real life feud for years after over the fact that Baldwin employed Method acting and stayed in (asshole) character off camera which pissed Pollak off to no end. Then thereās Gabriel Byrne as the de facto lead character Dean Keaton, kind of a mini-Soze master criminal in his own right since being thrown off the NYPD for corruption and who now tries to go straight as an entrepreneur along with having his romance with a cute but powerful criminal defense attorney played by Suzy Amis. As for Spacey, he plays a role that allows him to project both weakness and strength, whether planning out a major robbery or being smacked around by Palminteri as he whimpers and begs for mercy all the while playing his tormentor for a fool. As the stakes get higher and the crew heads out to LA, it is there that they are approached by Sozeās representative, played by Pete Postletwaite in a chillingly calm performance, and given their ultimate objective: Storm a boat with tens of millions of dollars worth of dope, along with a witness who is turning stateās evidence for positively identifying Soze, and killing all inside. The filmās theme of honor amongst thieves who must stick together against all forms of the law is not a new one, but still given a nice makeover in the creative process here. The pacing is admittedly pretty brisk, keeping things moving as we delve into the criminal underworld of both LA and New York. But of course what made the film the most talked about that year was the incredible twist ending, one so good that people didnāt even grasp the full impact of it at the time. While most conclude that a twist ending gives one pat explanation for explaining the events of a film, this one actually opened up multiple possibilities for what may or may not have happened, as not only does it almost completely negate the flashbacks during the interrogation as told by Spacey, but it definitely DOES NOT give a conclusive answer as to the identity of Keyser Soze, made more evident by the fact that so many different scenes and outcomes were shot that all five main actors came out of shooting the movie thinking that THEY turned out to be Soze in the end, with even Byrne going so far as to have an extended and heated argument with the filmmakers upon seeing the finished product. Which all goes to show that when it comes to making a complex puzzle box of a movie that entertains with good acting and writing during the process, this film may be the best of its kind ever made, one which fucks the mind and makes it ask for secondsā¦
10/10