Keyser Soze rules the world

Rating: 10/10 (5 March 1999)

An ex cop named Christopher McQuarrie (or maybe he's an ex-detective; I read this somewhere but I don't completely remember it) gets an idea about putting five super-criminals into a police line-up. He takes it to Bryan Singer, a director whom he collaborated with in Singer's first film PUBLIC ACCESS. Singer says that police lineups never have five super-criminals, they have the criminal and four people who share a resemblance. Then he thinks about it and says, wait a minute, under what circumstance would they be put in a line-up?
The result, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, is an enjoyable, twisty, thriller which is fun even as it entangles you in a complex plot, and then pulls the rug out with one more twist. Curiously, I guessed that twist, then dismissed it out of hand, and then was proven right! It did not stop me from enjoying it. It wasn't the best movie of that year (it was tied for #8 on my top ten with THE UNDERNEATH; ahead of it were LEAVING LAS VEGAS, NIXON, DEAD MAN WALKING, SMOKE, LE CONFESSIONAL, TWELVE MONKEYS, and THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY; behind it were ONCE WERE WARRIORS and SAFE), but it was the most fun. This had a lot of comparisons to RESERVOIR DOGS, but whereas that excellent film was an ironic take on old heist films, THE USUAL SUSPECTS plays it straight.
Everything comes together perfectly here; direction, writing (which assumes the audience is smart), music (which avoids most cliches when it comes to thrillers), colors, and yes, acting. All of it is top-notch, with of course special kudos going out to Kevin Spacey. Without ever "indicating," he creates a thoroughly believable cripple, plus he is a master storyteller, plus he's convincing both when he's defiant and when he's scared, or both, and when he's...but I should stop there. If you like being surprised and thrilled, this is for you.