Review of The Usual Suspects (1995) by Thomas B — 30 Jan 2015

The Usual Suspects is pretty much as close to perfect as you can get, in my books. Every actor pulls their weight, every line of the script melts in your mouth, every frame is planned to perfection and every note from those glorious strings in the amazing score will send shivers up your spine. .

We begin with a deliciously noir opening scene, bad guys, good guys and a mound of misbegotten mish-mash which apparently has some significance. We then backtrack with Kevin Spacey recounting some sort of criminal escapade and questions begin to become apparent. Who were these men whose actions resulted in the death of a boatful of men? Why were they on the boat in the first place? And above all, who is Keyser Soze? .

Bryan Singer's direction of this brilliant film is something to be admired. Each scene is effortlessly watchable, without sacrificing the character development for an abundance of entertainment. He creates a murky, yet slightly stylized, underworld for his characters and the atmosphere it creates in the film is an intricate blend of deities and scum, where no-one is what they seem and everyone is hiding something. .

The actors all pull their weight remarkably. Kevin Spacey, in particular, is amazing as Verbal Kint, 'the man with a plan' and awkward limp to go with it. He effortlessly crosses between motor mouth and his softer moments, displaying a great range in his acting and earning himself an Oscar in the process. Every scene of his is believeable and he easily shines brighter than the rest of the considerable cast. .

Gabriel Byrne is great as Dean Keaton, too, showing the raging madman within him as well as the softer points of a man who everytime he gets out, they pull him back in. His moments with Edie are few and far between, so we don't get to see as much of his range as we could have, but his romance is mostly sidelined in this film. .

Benicio Del Toro and Stephen Baldwin are great as Finster and McManus (respectively); the unintelligible man and his hyperactive friend, they are a great addition to the cast and extremely likeable. Chazz Palminteri as Agent Dave Kujan is fantastic as well, though the fact that he's acting opposite Spacey most of the time means that he's often overshadowed by Spacey's brilliance, but his delivery of great lines (you get no immunity from me!) means that he holds his own. Kevin Pollack does well as Todd Hockney, "the man who really didn't give a s**t about anyone." He plays the wisecracking professional well, even though his character isn't as memorable as the others. .

The script is amazing, giving us some of cinema's greatest phrases and tying together what could have been a very scattered movie. The fact that it can keep such tension sustained for so long is a testament to its brilliance. The dialogue between Agent Kujan and Verbal Kint sparkles with dark humour in its brilliant back and forth. .

The score is one of the major components of this film. It is truly brilliant and influenced the world of music in films hugely. The dark strings, reminscent of Jaws, shows the darkness, the intensity, the hint of playfullnes and the danger of the world our characters live in all at once. Guaranteed to stick in your head and change your world. .

The Usual Suspects, as I said before, is pretty much as close to perfect as you can get in afilm: a thrilling mystery, great characters, fantastic script and sound and fantastic direction, all set in a film noir style. You're almost guaranteed to like this film, no matter what your predisposition may be in terms of genre or style, you will like this. Fantastic film. .

Defining Scene: .

The almighty line-up scene. Great blend of style, acting and direction with some killer dialogue.