The Usual Suspects
(1994, Bryan Singer)
Average Contributor Rating:

Written By: Christopher McQuarrie.
Directed By: Bryan Singer.
Genre(s): Crime, Thriller.
Selected Cast: Kevin Spacey (Verbal Kint), Gabriel Byrne (Keaton), Steven Baldwin (McManus), Benicio del Toro (Fenster), Kevin Pollack (Hockney), Chaz Palminteri (Dave Kujan), Pete Postlethwaite (Kobayashi).

I still love this – the story of five criminals (Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Steven Baldwin, Kevin Pollack, and Benicio del Toro) who come together by “coincidence” and decide to take on a job together, but end up on a twisting road towards almost certain death - a lot, no matter how many mistakes there are in it. Sure, there are moments of hamminess in the acting, the script doesn’t always hold up under the pressure of clichés, and Singer’s input – although impressive – is clearly that of a debutant. But, I have to say, this is still one of the most entertaining crime films ever made. But what sets it apart is that it also has something going on upstairs. It’s winding plot and clever characterisation makes “the Usual Suspects” worth watching again and again and again, and the little moments that you may have missed the first time all come clear on the second. The acting is still sublime, particularly from Kevin Spacey, whose mysterious, smart, and smarmy Verbal Kint is one of the greatest cinematic creations that America produced in the 1990s. Benicio del Toro puts in solid work in a character that was clearly only ever created to die, and the rest of the suspects – Pollack, Byrne, Baldwin – put in what are either career bests or very close to that. Also look out for Pete Postlethwaite, who has never been better than as the stoic faced lawyer Kobayashi. But what’s best is the twist, which holds up time and time again. Even if I have seen this film over ten times, I still find the goose bumps appearing in the final montage, and watching it with friends who have never seen it before (like the person I watched it with tonight) is a thoroughly rewarding and pleasing experience. One of the very best film of the last twenty years. . JB.
.