Genius thriller with career best performances from most concerned

Rating: 10/10 (26 July 2005)

A lot can be said about the Usual Suspects that makes you wonder just what kind of film it is: epic twists, killer dialogue, excellent performances, hardcore action and much more. All of these beg the modern question... who did the director steal his best ideas from? Well that's just it. Although Suspects does owe a debt of gratitude to many films, Casablanca being one example, it was made a long time before the recent crop of films created by directors nicking their best ideas of other people.
This is no Tarantino-esquire film because it was made before he hit the full heights of his popularity. It has no Shyamalan style twist because old M. Night probably got the idea from Suspects. In short, this was the film that provided the catalyst for an awful lot of what we now regard as standard in our noirish, modern films.
For anyone who has yet to see this movie any talk of the plot would spoil the surprise, not just the one at the end but the genuine thrill of seeing every actor involved create an ensemble piece of such exquisite pace, tension and thrill. Whether it's Benicio Del Toro's bizarre Fenster, Kevin Pollack's bitter-sweet Hockney or even Stephen Baldwin's characteristic McManus, this film has a bunch of actors doing perhaps their best work to date, even beyond the five in the line up.
There are a few minor quibbles. Continuity provides a problem in places as does the explanations for some characters' motives. The film jumps around different time-lines fairly unpredictably and you can be forgiven for wondering whether the whole thing is just a big shaggy dog story. On the other hand, as twisty turny thrillers go this one can't be beat.
If you have yet to do so buy, not see or rent but buy, this film, watch it all the way through with no one (as they'll be hopping up and down on their seat desperately trying to explain the clever bits and pieces that Singer and co have strewn throughout) and enjoy one of the best examples of modern film making. You must be warned though, when I saw it for the first time I had to start it again right from the beginning just to get to grips with the ending!