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The Usual Suspects
(1995)
Bryan Singer's The Usual Suspects represents the ultimate in audience manipulation and controlled unfolding of a script. It is a shamelessly clever movie in which logic is only followed to the degree that it allows McQuarrie and Singer to let their delicate hoax continue to elaborate and suck us in. The style, confidence and timing was brilliantly combined in this benchmark mystery film. The idea is simple, but constantly complicated by Singer's elegant denouement. We meet five standard criminals who seem to be set up in a line-up after a robbery none of them did. They develop a plan to get back at the police while earning themselves some money. Then they are offered the job of a lifetime by a mysterious stranger who presents himself as a messenger for the enigmatic Keyser Soze. But who is Keyser Soze? And who can be trusted by whom? In many ways, The Usual Suspects is a make or break film, since Singer's direction is constantly balancing on a razor edge. But in maintaining suspense throughout and conducting a stylish film noir updated to what was to become a trendsetting way of filmmaking, the film has a magnetic effect which most likely will blind you into complete enjoyment. The brilliant cast certainly had fun during the making, with Benicio Del Toro making a name for himself and Kevin Spacey making the transition from a critics' favourite to a big box office star. One of the best of the boldly directed, cleverly scripted crime films of the 1990s which will send shivers down your spine. Verbal Kint: "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled, was convincing the world he didn't exist." [When bending down to pick up a cloth to
wipe off his face as an abundance of armed police officers were
arresting him] [About Keyser Soze]
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