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We all have those movies that we’d like to be able to watch again for the first time—to experience the magic, the mystery, the excitement, and the drama without knowing where it might be headed. For me, that list is pretty long. It includes movies like The Sixth Sense and Memento—and, of course, Bryan Singer’s brilliant crime thriller, The Usual Suspects.
The mystery revolves around a fire that destroyed a ship docked in the harbor outside LA. Twenty-seven are dead, while just two survived. One of the survivors is severely burned, and he speaks nothing but Hungarian. The other is Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey), a crippled small-time criminal with a history of fraud.
Though he’s already been given immunity for all but a small role in the fire, Verbal agrees to sit down with customs agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) and tell his story—a story that begins six weeks earlier, with a stolen truck in New York.
After the hijacking, the resulting police lineup brings together five known criminals: Verbal, McManus (Stephen Baldwin), Fenster (Benicio Del Toro), Hockney (Kevin Pollak), and reformed crooked cop Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne). While waiting together in the holding cell, the five men discuss a sure-fire smuggling job that McManus is planning—a job that eventually puts them under the ruthless command of notorious (and mysterious) crime boss Keyser Soze.
The Usual Suspects is a smart and stylish crime thriller, with brilliant touches of classic noir and an Oscar-winning story that you’re unlikely to forget. The cast of “usual suspects,” meanwhile, couldn’t be much more extraordinary. From Baldwin’s wild-eyed McManus to an energetic, young Del Toro as the mostly-unintelligible Fenster, each cast member brings his A-game, turning the unlikely band of crooks into an unforgettable gang of five.
At the center of it all, of course, is Spacey’s Oscar-winning role as the chatty Verbal Kint—the low man on the criminal totem pole, who’s perfectly happy to sit back and tell his story. Spacey is nothing short of phenomenal—his performance legendary—as he spins this remarkable tale.
This isn’t just another formulaic crime thriller—and there’s so much more to this captivating mystery than first meets the eye. Though Kujon first comes to Verbal to find out what happened aboard the ship, his line of questioning begins to shift—and the film follows right along with it—once he hears that the Hungarian survivor has mentioned Keyser Soze. Suddenly, the questions turn to the criminal mastermind. Is he just a legend—a myth—or does he really exist? And, if he does exist, who is he? Kujon thinks he has the answers—and, as Verbal’s story unfolds, you’ll come up with a few answers of your own. But, no matter how hard you may try, you’re unlikely to put the pieces of this brilliant puzzle together.
The Usual Suspects is a carefully and cleverly concocted crime thriller, with a well-crafted story and an ending that you’ll never see coming. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of film—you’ll only get one chance to enjoy it for the first time—so, if you still haven’t seen it, don’t miss it.
Blu-ray Review:
After watching a remarkable film like The Usual Suspects, you may be eager to check out some of the special features—to find out more about the ingenious story and the talented cast. Unfortunately, though, the limited edition Blu-ray book doesn’t include any extras, other than the book-style case. Though it includes some stills, observations, and cast bios, it isn’t the feature-filled collection that you might be expecting.
