Okay so I may have watched this a few weeks ago but I think I finally have time to review it. The Usual Suspects, the 1995 Neo-Noir Crime thriller by Bryan Singer tells the incredibly well-written story of a con-artist who recounts how he and four other criminals ended up being a part of heist that ended in the deaths of the other four. Kevin Spacey plays Verbal Kint, who, after surviving a massacre on a boat where he and his gang failed to destroy $91 million in cocaine after they were blackmailed into doing the job in the first place, is telling his story to an FBI agent in exchange for near-total immunity.
If that sounds complex it’s because it is.
The title of the film is inspired by the famous line from Casablanca, “Round up the usual suspects.”
When Verbal begins his story, he explains that he and four other criminals met one night when they were rounded up as suspects for a gun-shipment robbery, they decided that their will never to rat the others out would make them an elite team of con-artists. They get revenge on the cops by outing them as being corrupt, busting them for helping a smuggler get his drugs into New York City by stealing the drugs themselves.
The five then move to LA, where a series of miscommunications lands them with the lawyer Kobayashi, who says he works for Keyser Söze, an infamous yet mysterious criminal who has the power to kill them all if they disobey him. Their task is to intercept the delivery of $91 million in cocaine, but when they get to the ship and kill all of the Hungarian gang involved in the drug deal, a mysterious agent approaches and kills all of them except for Verbal. Being the sole survivor, he agrees to tell his story in exchange for immunity.
The film’s twists and turns are worth every moment of watching it, because it’s impossible to tell as a viewer who is lying and who is closest to solving the case. Kevin Spacey gives an amazing performance as Verbal Kint, a dim-witted man with cerebral palsy.
I recognized so much of the film just from its effect on pop culture. TV shows, movies, everyone has played with this idea of tricking the audience so fully into believing one thing and then revealing another. I was so thrilled while watching it that when the ending finally happened I just froze and slowly dropped my jaw. I highly recommend it for anyone who likes films that present puzzles for their viewers to solve.
The film is #23 in the IMDb Top 250, winning Oscars for Best Screenplay and Kevin Spacey for Best Supporting Actor.
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