A marvel of the industry!

Rating: 10/10 (13 January 2004)

It's rare for a film to be perfect in every way imaginable. Let me cut the suspense, this isn't one of them. However, I've never seen a perfect movie, but if I had to choose one for the title, The Usual Suspects would definitely be it.
After a violent firefight on Long Beach Harbor, the leads point to one man: Keyser Soze, a deadly crimelord believed to be dead or fiction. Agent Kujan (CHAZZ PALMINTERI) takes the case. He has questions and only "Verbal" Kint (KEVIN SPACEY), a man who once had a relationship with Kujan's main suspect, has the answers. The film takes the audience on a magnificent ride through Kint's story and his experiences with Dean Keaton, played convincingly by Gabriel Byrne. The twists and turns lead to one of the most shocking endings in cinematic history.
Bryan Singer, director of The Usual Suspects, has created a film that excels in lighting and creative shots. The scenes at the pier during the firefight are extremely eerie, due in no small part to the lighting and the ghostly wanderings of Soze. The tension is mounted upon these, accompanied by John Ottman's spectacular score. But the music is just as eerie as the silence. Singer knows when the have the music mute in particular scenes. He knows when to place the lights up or low, knows how to manipulate the camera to jerk a certain emotion from us. He does it well. It's the sign of a great director.
But every film has a downside, however small it may be, and this film is no exception. Fenster (BENICIO DEL TORO), one of Kint's associates, although a funny character, has no relevance to the film. Nothing he says has any importance and the movie seems to only use the character as comic relief from a rather dark and dreary movie. Del Toro does perform well with the character but the film would probably would have been more believable without him.
Kevin Spacey's performance as Kint earned him an Academy Award and the film earned countless others from lesser organizations. This film deserves to be ranked among the best mystery films in recent history. The bar has been set - it will be hard to surpass it.
Rating: 10 out of 10