What really happened?

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2009)

This is one of the most gripping films I've seen, it is one of those films you have to watch again so that you can appreciate early events in the light of what is revealed later in the film. Even now that I've seen is several times I'm not 100% sure what is true and what is misdirection.
The cast all do a great job, especially Gabriel Byrne as the charismatic ex-corrupt police officer Dean Keaton who is trying to go straight after a life of crime, Pete Postlethwaite as the mysterious Kobayashi and Kevin Spacey as Verbal Kint, a crippled con artist who is explaining what happened to the authorities (and us) what may have happened in the run up to his arrest.
The film opens in the aftermath of a battle on a boat in a harbour in Los Angeles, there are only two know survivors; Verbal and a badly burnt Hungarian. Dave Kujan, a US customs officer, is sure that Keaton masterminded the attack and has escaped so he interviews Verbal who has done a deal with the police and is soon to be released. Verbal tells a tale of how the group met up when they were all hauled in by the NYPD for a robbery and put in a line up together. There they plan a job to get back at the police before heading to LA to lie low and to fence their ill-gotten gains. Here they are approached by Kobayashi, a lawyer claiming to work for Keyser Soze, a mysterious character who strikes fear into the hearts of criminals even though none have actually met him. Kobayashi explains that they must do one job for Mr Soze. All this is told us by Verbal so we never really know if he is telling the truth, and if he is lying is it to protect himself, his friend Keaton or perhaps he is just making up a story for his own personal amusement while awaiting release.
The story is brilliantly told and it is rightly considered a modern classic, if you haven't seen it yet then I strongly recommend watching it... twice! Although even then you'll not fully understand what has happened.