The character actors ultimate epic...sure to become a classic of cinema

Rating: 8/10 (10 September 2006)

The Usual Suspects ironically calls itself that and casts itself with some of Hollywood's biggest recognizable character actors. What is a character actor exactly?? Is that truly another word for an actor who doesn't make it as a leading man or woman?? NO. I don't think so at all. A character actor is a very versatile actor who takes on a mix of roles and appears in many, many film after film popping up everywhere. Sometimes they may get a lead role, sometimes not but they don't need to be at the top of the credits to make an appearance and they play important and significant roles and get many more parts than other actors. The Usual Suspects is jammed full of these character actors led of course by the incomparable Kevin Spacey who I must say has become much, much more of a leading man now than a character actor but at the time he was the best at playing these offbeat roles. The Usual Suspects is not exactly a brain science of a film, it doesn't really offer anything incredibly unique to the "heist" genre of films, it's almost stereotypical and yet it has this feel, it has this quality about it that makes it an unmistakable classic. I expected from what I heard of it that it would be gritty, violent, bloody, horrifying and it is gritty but everything else kind of just fits in with most films but it still has that unmistakable must see quality.
Oscar Winner for this role Kevin Spacey plays Roger 'Verbal' Kint, a talkative man with a limp who is known on the street for his elaborate cons. Spacey is brilliant and psychotic and watchable and nearly lovable as Kint. This is one of his best roles and he deserved that Oscar hands down. He does a terrific job in this role. Verbal Kint goes down as a memorable character in film history. Gabriel Byrne, who I've always enjoyed in his roles plays self appointed leader of the Suspects Dean Keaton, a man trying to go clean from his criminal ways. Byrne really doesn't have great range as an actor, most of his roles are very similar but he still has a certain presence on screen and he demands attention and comes across very powerful. Benicio Del Toro plays a smaller yet definitive role as Fred Fenster, a fast talking mumbler that provides the small bit of comic relief to the film. He does well in his quite small part. Stephen Baldwin plays hot headed Michael McManus and I'm surprised this part didn't mainstream him more for big films because he has the star quality and his performance is noteworthy in this film. Kevin Pollak who has done some great work plays Todd Hockney and is kind of back seat to Byrne and Spacey but his performance is also well rounded. Chazz Palminteri does a great job playing "bad cop" Dave Kujan who spends the entire film interrogating Spacey and their chemistry and banter is very well done. Brilliant character actor Dan Hedaya plays the "good cop" half as the other cop interrogating him and although he doesn't get a lot of screen time he performs his usual great role. And finally but notably Pete Postlethwaite plays Kobayashi, a liaison between the suspects and big time mythic crime lord Kyzer Soze. He is always a pleasure on screen in small but pertinent roles and I was happy to see him. He has a dark air about him perfect for the part.
Bryan Singer is a brilliant director there is no doubt about it. He seems to have a way of bringing out the human in every film. He made the Xmen come to life and more recently created a whole new Superman for a new generation no matter how it was received it had the Singer touch and this is very different for what he has done recently but it still has his stamp of reality on it. The whole story boils down to tracking the mysterious and deadly Kyzer Soze through a crime spree involving assassinating a witness who can identify him. It's an ensemble cast of men without egos and it works so incredibly well from the opening scene and very famous line up to the closing twist of an ending. Now I admit I did kind of figure out the ending so it didn't really come as a shock like it should have, I think they make it far more evident than they needed to but it doesn't diminish the quality of the plot or story. It's an action crime thriller that will most certainly be a classic if it is not already. At best you must watch these to see some truly under-rated actors work brilliantly and to see a dark gritty tale that keeps you entertained until the very last minute. A SOLID 8.5/10!