The Usual Suspects DVD
MGM Entertainment
Rated: R
Genre: Drama
Length: 122 minutes
Director: Bryan Singer
Year: (1995)
Britt Gillette's The Usual Suspects DVD Review
Winner of two Academy Awards including Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Kevin Spacey), The Usual Suspects is not only one of the most intriguing films of the 1990's, but has built somewhat of a cult following as well. With a string top grade actors filling out the cast, the film employs a high level of suspense and attempts to keep its audience guessing until the final. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Christopher McQuarrie), The Usual Suspects is packed with an abundance of original one-liners and memorable scenes…
Following a waterfront explosion and series of confrontations that leaves countless people dead, the police take Roger "Verbal" Kint (Kevin Spacey) into custody to see what he knows. A cripple, the eyewitness tells his story to US Customs Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) during an interrogation that runs the length of the film.
Starting at the beginning, Verbal tells Agent Kujan about the hijacking of a truck several months earlier. In effort to catch the true culprit (for which they have no leads), the local authorities round up "the usual suspects" and bring them in for questioning. Among the men are Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne) a hardened criminal turned legit, Mike McManus (Stephen Baldwin) a sharp shooter with a criminal background, Fred Fenster (Benicio Del Toro) a street wise thief with a long rap sheet, and Todd Hockney (Kevin Pollak) another thief with a long track record of criminal activity. All four men are gathered together in a lineup with Verbal Kint, a known petty criminal in his own right.
When the police put the five men together in a jail cell hoping that one of them will crack, the result is the development of a new criminal conspiracy among the men. Keaton is the only one who exhibits reluctance due to his recent love affair with a powerful attorney and his desire to leave the criminal life behind him. Together, the five men take out a drug runner carrying loads of cocaine (which they think is cash), forcing them to fence the product off to liquidate their take.
After the job is finished, the men are approached by a man named Kobayashi (Pete Postlethwaite) who informs them that he represents the powerful lord of the underworld Keyser Soze. According to Kobayashi, each of the men was secretly working for Soze without his knowledge, and that he gathered them together in order to perform a job for him. Soze will be extremely grateful if they pull off the job, which requires them to attack a docked tanker carrying cocaine and destroy the cocaine. In exchange, the men can keep the cash onboard, and Soze will have eliminated his chief competition in the drug trade. Exhibiting a detailed dossier on each man, Kobayashi explains that if the men do not cooperate, horrible things will befall their loved ones (each of whom he personally names).
Defiant, the men set a trap for Kobayashi and threaten to kill him. But he soon convinces them that Keyser Soze is very real, and he would sooner face death than face his boss if he didn't do what he was told.
As Verbal's story unfolds, a survivor of the harbor explosion is brought to Agent Kujan's attention by FBI Agent Jack Baer (Giancarlo Esposito). Burned beyond recognition, the lone eyewitness claims that he saw Keyser Soze at the docks on the night of the explosion. Agent Baer demands that a sketch artist draw a picture based on the man's description, and the authorities wait to get their first lead on the infamous figure who they weren't certain ever existed to begin with ("the greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that he did not exist" - Verbal Kint).
Meanwhile, Verbal continues to relay his story to Agent Kujan who suspects that the true mastermind of the events in question was not Keyser Soze, but Keaton - a man he has been after for years. As Verbal describes the method by which the events unfolded, it becomes clear how and why the harbor was so filled with blood on the previous night. Verbal claims he hid because he was scared of Keyser Soze who he personally witnessed murder Keaton.
As the interview concludes, Agent Kujan admits that Verbal has friends in high places who are working to set him free. He tries to convince Verbal to stay in the protection of the police because he thinks Soze is waiting to have him killed once he leaves the station. Telling Agent Kujan that he's a dead man no matter what he does, Verbal decides to leave.
Moments after Verbal's release, Agent Kujan receives a fax of the sketch artist's rendition of Keyser Soze. The man pictured looks surprisingly familiar, and as Kujan runs into the street to find Verbal Kint, all he can see is that the man has disappeared…
From a suspense standpoint as well as cinematic effect, The Usual Suspects is one of the best written movies of its decade. If you enjoy violent dramas, then it's very doubtful that you will not thoroughly enjoy this film. Memorable in every respect, The Usual Suspects qualifies with a high rating on the scale of must-see films. Treat yourself to an evening of intrigue, and give it a try…
Britt Gillette
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Read more Usual Suspects DVD Reviews (MRQE)
Read more Usual
Suspects DVD Reviews (MRI)
Posted on 17 December 2004