Review of The Usual Suspects (1995) by Rebecca B — 05 Oct 2014

The greatest trick Kevin Spacey ever pulled was this completely random plot twist which is revered as one of the greatest in cinematic history. This 1995 thriller-crime-drama film is the movie which many claim got Kevin Spacey to where he is now. To some, this film could only be described by the phrase "cinematic masterpiece." The entire movie is told as a flashback of the past six weeks and because of this, the film has an anonymous and ubiquitous narrator. Roger "Verbal" Kint (Kevin Spacey) is the only witness of a nearby boat explosion. He begins telling the story about how he met a group of his fellow criminals or parters-in-crime: Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), Michael McNanus (Stephen Baldwin), Todd Hockney (Kevin Pollak), and Fred Fenster (Benicio Del Toro) for the first time. The Usual Suspects keeps its audience on the edge of their seats with its Oscar-worthy performances, vivid cinematography, and impressive editing.

If casting was an Olympic sport, then the casting director of The Usual Suspects would have most definitely won the gold medal. First of all, Kevin Spacey is undoubtedly one of the greatest talents that Hollywood has seen in the past few decades. His performance in this film is what really sells the entire concept to the viewers. There is a quality to Spacey that mesmerizes the audience into believing his story which turns out to be completely false and improvised by his character. Spacey plays "a dumb cripple" as he so eloquently puts it in the film, and therefore gains sympathy and compassion from the audience. He obtains the viewer's loyalty and trust and abruptly betrays it before delivering the epic quote, "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." His performance in this film allocated him his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Other notable cast members include Stephen Baldwin and Golden Globe winner Gabriel Byrne as well as Kevin Pollak and Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro; all of the aforementioned cast members gave genuine and respectable performances as well. The performances were amazing, but would have been for nothing without the spectacular cinematography.

The cinematography of The Usual Suspects is outstanding in terms of quality. This film is sometimes classified as a neo noir film which is evident in its dark and ominous atmosphere. Neo noir films are generally dark and twisted with 1940s/1950s vibe and The Usual Suspects delivers much more than a dark atmosphere with a mid 20th century crime drama allusion. The contrast with the lighting aspect of creating this film was obviously very important and well done. Without the complex cinematography, this film would not have had the eerie and mysterious tone/mood that it would have needed.

The editing of this film is so great that it is easy to forget that this is a movie and not actually happening in real life. Generally, action movies make the editing process difficult, but the editing in this film is expertly and exquisitely done. Cutting together several action sequences is no easy task and editing for a film told in a flashback is probably a very tedious and extensive process. One of the greatest edited sequences in the movie happens towards the end when Agent Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) realizes that Verbal's story is a complete and utter lie. During Kujan's realization, the objects which Verbal used to tell his story are shown with close ups and are edited in with Spacey's voiceover telling the key parts of the story. This is the point in the film where viewers understand that Verbal and Keyser Söze are one in the same.

The Usual Suspects is critically acclaimed and still beloved by many despite the fact that it was released almost 20 years ago. Besides Spacey's additional Oscar, the film also won Best Screenplay. Keyser Söze has been recognized as one of the best characters in film history. The Usual Suspects is everything an audience wants in a crime drama film including a killer cast, beautiful cinematography, and expertly executed editing. This film is by every definition a "cult classic.".