One of my favorite films of all time

Rating: 10/10 (1 December 2010)

This is nearly a perfect movie. Bryan Singer's second film, from an Oscar winning script by Christopher McQuarrie is a masterpiece, plain and simple. It's topped off by a fantastic score by John Ottman (I agree with the many other posters who said that it was one of the best scores of the 90s).
For a film with so many disparate characters, it all comes together beautifully, a credit to both the actors and the film makers. Five career criminals are brought together in a police lineup in New York City, apparently so that a man one of them robbed at gunpoint can identify the perpetrator. In the holding cell afterward, they decide to work together.
The film is (unreliably) narrated by Roger 'Verbal' Kint, played in an Oscar winning turn by Kevin Spacey. Not only is his character well fleshed out, but Spacey makes an inveterate liar and con man into a sympathetic figure. Gabriel Byrne, playing a disgraced former cop named Keaton, deserves equal praise for his pitch perfect delivery of every line of dialogue he utters. All of the characters have a life and a back story, even Fenster (a then unknown Benicio Del Toro). His bizarre and inspired performance allows him to make the most of his limited screen time. Comedian Kevin Pollock is a thief with a Napoleon complex, who butts heads with fellow tough guy McManus (Stephen, the most obscure of the Baldwins).
The script concerns these five men being blackmailed into taking down an ocean liner allegedly carrying $91 million in cocaine, which is guarded by dozens of heavily armed men. What separates this from other crime thrillers is the shadowy presence of the never seen Keyser Soze, an almost supernatural Turkish crime lord. He is represented by an Asian / English attorney 'named' Mr. Kobayashi, who forces the five anti-heroes into this nearly impossible crime. Pete Postelthwaite (sp?) injects icy politeness and fascinating mannerisms into the role.
What I love most about this film, aside from the brilliant build-up and off kilter dialogue, are the little moments that Singer gives to the actors. Its when the film breathes that it is at its strongest. For instance, the scene outside the police precinct where Keaton looks at each of his future partners in crime as he hugs his girlfriend Edie, or the moment in his apartment when he looks down at her from the balcony before leaving for L.A. My favorite is the image of Keaton's reflection outside the conference room where Kobayashi meets with Edie (a lovely and unknown Suzy Amis), and second to that is the moment in the van where the criminals discuss the near impossibility of taking down the ocean liner. The use of music and sound in each scene is perfect.
The reveal of Kint's true nature has been often imitated, but in this film it is not a mere "gotcha" moment as Roger Ebert seemed to think it was in his review. The entire film led to that moment. The Customs agent arrogantly stated that he was smarter than Kint and could get the truth out of him, goading him into constructing the elaborate fantasy. And as Kint himself said early on in the film, he talks too much. Ottman's editing is a crescendo which gives the final revelation all of the impact it deserves.
It's up to the viewer to decide whether Keyser Soze is real, or a mere story, but it's a fascinating question to leave to the viewer. This is a rare case of everything coming together just right in a low budget film. Singer makes the most out of a small budget and delivers both great action and great character moments. Newton Thomas Sigel's stunning lighting and camera work make the film look better than any Hollywood blockbuster that came out in the same time frame, a tribute to what an independent film can accomplish with the right craftsmen.
As I said earlier, this is a masterpiece.