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THE USUAL SUSPECTS
Stylish and intense direction, a compelling, multi-layered story, and a terrific ensemble cast combine to make The Usual Suspects one of the best films of 1995.
This story-within-a-story-within-a-story-within-a-story opens with us meeting Keaton (Gabriel Byrne) a disgraced ex-cop turned criminal on a ship dying from a gunshot wound whose death is sealed with a couple of more bullets from an unknown assailant. We then see the ship set on fire and explode. The story then flashes back to an unusual police lineup that includes Keaton, McManus (Stephen Baldwin), Fenster (Benicio Del Toro), Hockney (Kevin Pollak), and the enigmatic crippled Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey) who allegedly have been brought in to be questioned regarding a truck hijacking, but we know this can't be the case since when a lineup is usually done, it's always done with the perp and strangers who have nothing to do with the case. We watch as this odd quintet of criminals are brought together for other work and then learn that everything they have gotten wrapped up in has been orchestrated by a criminal mastermind named Kayser Sose, who has a final assignment for them involving a 91 million dollar cocaine shipment out of which they may or may not come out alive.
Director Bryan Singer, whose only other work I have seen is the sadly mediocre 2007 adventure Superman Returns proves that at one time he was an expert at mounting the complex Oscar winning screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie that definitely has a Tarantino influence to it (not surprising since Pulp Fiction had just changed the crime drama forever a year earlier) but remains an independent story that brilliantly lays out as three stories that eventually whittle down to one offering just enough red herrings to pique viewer curiosity and demand complete viewer attention that is rewarded.
There is a scary underlying theme throughout this film regarding the power of this Kayser Sose...I found it a little stomach churning the number of people who were clearly under this guy's thumb who never met him. not to mention the terror he inflicted on his victims (a staggering body count is mounted here), one stool pigeon refers to his final encounter with him as "looking into the eyes of the devil." Once again, a character's impact is manifested through other characters' descriptions and limited backstory to maximum effect.
Singer's ensemble cast delivers the goods, everyone serving the story as they should. Giancarlo Esposito, Dan Hedaya, and especially Chazz Palminteri are quite effective as the cops trying to get to the bottom of this ugly story and Byrne has rarely been better as Keaton. Also loved Del Toro's flashy turn as Fenster and needless to say Kevin Spacey's Oscar winning performance as Verbal Kint is a one-man acting class. Production values are first rate, with special nods to film editing, sound, production design, and John Ottman's evocative music. A once in a lifetime crime drama that is inspired by dramas of the past but definitely has a life of its own.
Stylish and intense direction, a compelling, multi-layered story, and a terrific ensemble cast combine to make The Usual Suspects one of the best films of 1995.
This story-within-a-story-within-a-story-within-a-story opens with us meeting Keaton (Gabriel Byrne) a disgraced ex-cop turned criminal on a ship dying from a gunshot wound whose death is sealed with a couple of more bullets from an unknown assailant. We then see the ship set on fire and explode. The story then flashes back to an unusual police lineup that includes Keaton, McManus (Stephen Baldwin), Fenster (Benicio Del Toro), Hockney (Kevin Pollak), and the enigmatic crippled Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey) who allegedly have been brought in to be questioned regarding a truck hijacking, but we know this can't be the case since when a lineup is usually done, it's always done with the perp and strangers who have nothing to do with the case. We watch as this odd quintet of criminals are brought together for other work and then learn that everything they have gotten wrapped up in has been orchestrated by a criminal mastermind named Kayser Sose, who has a final assignment for them involving a 91 million dollar cocaine shipment out of which they may or may not come out alive.
Director Bryan Singer, whose only other work I have seen is the sadly mediocre 2007 adventure Superman Returns proves that at one time he was an expert at mounting the complex Oscar winning screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie that definitely has a Tarantino influence to it (not surprising since Pulp Fiction had just changed the crime drama forever a year earlier) but remains an independent story that brilliantly lays out as three stories that eventually whittle down to one offering just enough red herrings to pique viewer curiosity and demand complete viewer attention that is rewarded.
There is a scary underlying theme throughout this film regarding the power of this Kayser Sose...I found it a little stomach churning the number of people who were clearly under this guy's thumb who never met him. not to mention the terror he inflicted on his victims (a staggering body count is mounted here), one stool pigeon refers to his final encounter with him as "looking into the eyes of the devil." Once again, a character's impact is manifested through other characters' descriptions and limited backstory to maximum effect.
Singer's ensemble cast delivers the goods, everyone serving the story as they should. Giancarlo Esposito, Dan Hedaya, and especially Chazz Palminteri are quite effective as the cops trying to get to the bottom of this ugly story and Byrne has rarely been better as Keaton. Also loved Del Toro's flashy turn as Fenster and needless to say Kevin Spacey's Oscar winning performance as Verbal Kint is a one-man acting class. Production values are first rate, with special nods to film editing, sound, production design, and John Ottman's evocative music. A once in a lifetime crime drama that is inspired by dramas of the past but definitely has a life of its own.