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The Usual Suspects (1995)

A review by Damian Cannon.
Copyright © Movie Reviews UK 1997
In the tradition of Chandler, the contorted and labyrinthine thriller makes a welcome return to our screens with The Usual Suspects. The plot, such as it is, concerns the events which swirl around a group of five expert criminals as they tackle several lucrative and dangerous jobs. The initial scenes paint a portrait of devastation - corpses litter the quay around a burning ship - which special agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) is determined to comprehend. Unfortunately, there is only one unhurt witness - Roger "Verbal" Kint (Kevin Spacey), a shifty and inventive con-man. As Kujan begins his interrogation of Verbal the movie starts to switch restlessly between the present and the past, with Verbal supplying flashback narration. The real story starts several weeks earlier in a police line-up of Verbal, bent-cop Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), explosives expert Hockney (Kevin Pollak), comic McManus (Stephen Baldwin) and jumpy Fenster (Benicio del Toro).

The mismatched low-life characters decide to pull a revenge heist on the New York cops, figuring that they've all been pulled in on some trumped-up charge. The target is the so-called 'New York's finest taxi service' - a scam run by corrupt cops where they transport criminals for cash - when they're carrying several million dollars worth of illegal emeralds. The robbery goes perfectly (as Verbal tells it, he thought of the plan) except that their fence happens to do business in LA. Of course, they all have to make the trip west since none of them really trusts each other, even if they are partners. However, from here on the villains find themselves falling ever deeper into trouble as they come under the influence of an infamous criminal mastermind -- Keyser Soze.

Working through his intermediary, Kobayashi (Pete Postlethwaite), the team find that every aspect of their lives is known to Soze - a man reputed to be ruthless enough to execute his own family rather than lose to an enemy. As Verbal describes all of this to the incredulous Kujan, the special agent begins to see that there is more to this story than meets the eye; particularly when he learns about Soze from fellow officers. The storyline becomes further convoluted with double-crossings, murders, manipulation and blackmail as Verbal draws ever closer to the present. Only one facet remains certain -- the deft touch of Soze is detectable everywhere.

Combining a palpable atmosphere of fear and treachery with one of the most involving plots of recent times, Bryan Singer has directed a cracking movie. Excellent acting by the lead characters draws us deeply into the web of deceit where Keyser Soze has influence over everyone. In fact, despite the level of concentration required there is never a moment where it all gets too much; the pacing of the script is perfect. Yes, it's true that much of the plot seems recycled and that there are several holes in the story but these are frankly unimportant when you're sitting there, in the dark. The style of the whole picture carries it past any of these problems and leaves a gripping movie behind it; one which is worth watching again and again.

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