← Back to Reviews
in
#109 - The Usual Suspects
Bryan Singer, 1995
When five professional criminals are put into the same police lineup, they decide to team up as revenge against the police but soon end up drawing the attention of a legendary crime boss.
Even though I had somehow ended up reading the entire screenplay for The Usual Suspects (which spoiled its big twist in the introduction anyway) before actually seeing the film, I still liked it enough to consider it a major favourite back in the day. Now, about a decade or so later I merely think it's a slightly better than average film with writing that's strong enough to make up for its relatively low budget. Much of that is down to the performances - of course, Kevin Spacey as the nervy, talkative "Verbal" Kint is a standout that is able to handle the suitably noir-ish narration, while the other suspects vary. Gabriel Byrne is great as the ostensible protagonist, a reformed criminal who gets dragged back into the game, while Kevin Pollak and Benicio Del Toro make for good comic relief as a result of the former's foul-mouthed snark and the latter's incredibly bizarre accent. Stephen Baldwin is sort of the weak link in the ensemble, coming across as little more than a raspy-voiced soldier of fortune but in this company being the weakest doesn't necessarily make him bad. Other side characters, such as Pete Postlethwaite's mysterious lawyer (who is played by an English actor, has a Japanese name and sounds Pakistani but still makes some sense) or Chazz Palminteri's tenacious interrogator, also make solid turns in their roles.
As I mentioned before, this film did have a fairly low budget and it does show through some filmmaking techniques that alternate between the stolid and the overly artistic (especially the cinematography that keeps the camera moving slowly and constantly with the intention of adding energy but ultimately ends up just being distracting). The score is appropriately foreboding. The film is more than carried by strong actors and an even stronger script, which still crackles even if you know the twist (or read the published screenplay). While not a major favourite anymore, I still reckon it's a great film on its own and definitely essential viewing.
Bryan Singer, 1995
When five professional criminals are put into the same police lineup, they decide to team up as revenge against the police but soon end up drawing the attention of a legendary crime boss.
Even though I had somehow ended up reading the entire screenplay for The Usual Suspects (which spoiled its big twist in the introduction anyway) before actually seeing the film, I still liked it enough to consider it a major favourite back in the day. Now, about a decade or so later I merely think it's a slightly better than average film with writing that's strong enough to make up for its relatively low budget. Much of that is down to the performances - of course, Kevin Spacey as the nervy, talkative "Verbal" Kint is a standout that is able to handle the suitably noir-ish narration, while the other suspects vary. Gabriel Byrne is great as the ostensible protagonist, a reformed criminal who gets dragged back into the game, while Kevin Pollak and Benicio Del Toro make for good comic relief as a result of the former's foul-mouthed snark and the latter's incredibly bizarre accent. Stephen Baldwin is sort of the weak link in the ensemble, coming across as little more than a raspy-voiced soldier of fortune but in this company being the weakest doesn't necessarily make him bad. Other side characters, such as Pete Postlethwaite's mysterious lawyer (who is played by an English actor, has a Japanese name and sounds Pakistani but still makes some sense) or Chazz Palminteri's tenacious interrogator, also make solid turns in their roles.
As I mentioned before, this film did have a fairly low budget and it does show through some filmmaking techniques that alternate between the stolid and the overly artistic (especially the cinematography that keeps the camera moving slowly and constantly with the intention of adding energy but ultimately ends up just being distracting). The score is appropriately foreboding. The film is more than carried by strong actors and an even stronger script, which still crackles even if you know the twist (or read the published screenplay). While not a major favourite anymore, I still reckon it's a great film on its own and definitely essential viewing.