Bryan Singer's First Big Hit

Rating: 7/10 (11 April 2012)

I guess you don't get the same effect when you first watch a movie like THE USUAL SUSPECTS more than fifteen years after it was first released. Any chance of being "surprised" at the ending is ruined because spoilers have long since become common knowledge. I knew who Keyser Söze was way before I ever bothered to hunt down the movie. Of course, if you're reading this there's a possibility you haven't seen the film and, on the off chance you've somehow managed to avoid exposure to the oft-spoiled ending, I won't mention it here. I'm just here to explain if I enjoyed it, which I did for the most part. The movie is your conventional crime drama with a strong cast and some sharp writing that prevent it from fading into obscurity. It begins in the aftermath of a boat explosion where three career criminals were killed and evidence of a rumored multimillion dollar drug deal is no where to be found. What brought these criminals together and what went wrong on that boat? Only one man might hold the answers: Verbal Kint, a smalltime criminal with cerebral palsy and one of only two survivors from the botched operation. In an interrogation with Agent Kujan of US Customs, Kint will explain how it all came together: how five con-men with their own agendas were brought together with the help of a police lineup and eventually found themselves employed by the mysterious Keyser Söze. But the question remains, who is Keyser Söze?
Having seen this movie so long after it originally hit, I've got to say: wow, it feels dated. When I was watching it, it consistently screamed 90's. The editing, the cinematography, just the overall style is firmly planted in the decade. In a sense, it kind of sucks. As much as I've heard and read about the movies over the years, I guess I expected something with a little more of it's own style. It doesn't detract overwhelmingly from the movie. It's still a solid story with a great cast of characters, but it's just visually unimpressive. It's a pretty basic premise for a movie and I think it was the "twist" ending that grabbed a lot of people's attentions. Really, it's not so much a twist because it didn't really have that much of a bearing on the story. Looking back, the big revelation could've involved any character and it wouldn't really have been any different. It makes the ending memorable, sure, especially the means in which it was accomplished during the interrogation. That much was cool, no doubt. Christopher McQuarrie has since gone on to prove himself a capable enough screenwriter and his nonlinear storytelling keeps the movie intriguing (even when, in my case, you know how it ends beforehand). I suppose the best thing to come from this movie was director Bryan Singer's first major success. I can't imagine he would've been able to bring his vision of X-MEN to life if he hadn't knocked this one out of the park with audiences.
Going in, I knew Kevin Spacey was in the film and, as anyone who's even seen Kevin Spacey in a film can attest, he's guaranteed to be awesome. And he was. He brings his best in every role he adopts, and Verbal Kint is no different. Kint is a strange man, seemingly small time compared to the situation he's found himself in but you can't help but feel there's more to his character. Speaking of characters, let's go back to how I mentioned the overwhelming 90's vibe and take a moment to bring up the cast. If this cast doesn't feel ripped right out of the decade, I don't know what does: Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, comedian (with a penchant for dramatic roles) Kevin Pollack, Benicio Del Toro, and (I kid you not) Stephen Baldwin. To be fair, Del Toro has gone on to continuing success in his career and I love his character, Fenster. Del Toro has admitted that Fenster only serves the movie as a plot device about halfway through and took the opportunity to have a little fun with it, giving him near indecipherable speech that steals scenes from the heavyweight performances going on around him. These guys make for an interesting, if eclectic, bunch. Byrne is great as the movie's "hero". His character, Dean Keaton, is a formerly crooked cop who's gone straight but finds himself reeled back into the world of crime. Even Baldwin does well here. All of the elements are here for a fun crime drama and new viewers are sure to find something here to enjoy.