"And like that...poooof! He was gone!..Vanished into thin air.."

Rating: 10/10 (24 January 2001)

"The Usual Suspects" is a movie which most reviewers advise to watch very carefully. "Don't go to the bathroom or move to get popcorn.." they say. It is crafted as a semi-narrative story in which we learn about the experiences of 5 criminals who band together to get even with a careless police department. They do not know, however, that they are being manipulated by a notorious Hungarian psychopath named "Keyser Sosey".
The first time you see this movie you see it the way Keyser Sosey wants you to see it. It will surprise you. The second time you see it (which Ebert also had to do), you will be seeing it from a different perspective. The second time, you will, perhaps, see it from the perspective of the investigator who was grilling and intimidating Verbal Kint (lone survivor of a burned ship and 29 dead bodies). It will surprise you again. Both times you see it, you will be gathering more information of what was done and why. The third time you see it, you'll probably drop your coffee cup on the floor and it will shatter.
I rate this movie a "10", and if you don't see it...Well, let's just say Keyser Sosey might have a message for you.

Jack Hamann