The Usual Suspects (1995) One man survived a waterfront shoot-out. Police try to piece together what happened from his story, but find more questions at every turn. At the center of the mystery is the question: Who is Keyser Soze?
Directed by Bryan Singer
Starring Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Toro, Pete Postlethwaite
Why I Liked It – What’s not to like? A brilliant cast and a twisting, devious plot.
Let’s deal with the Kevin Spacey issue upfront. A brilliant career has been destroyed by the actor’s repeated issues with inappropriate sexual behaviors. While never convicted for any of them, the sheer number of them is impossible to ignore. Since the last charges were dismissed, Spacey has displayed some strange behaviors that haven’t aided any attempt to revive his career. So the question becomes: how to we deal with the body of work that exists? My feeling has always been, so long as the work is compelling and not tainted by the acts in question, I will continue to enjoy them. I will not add a single penny to the pocket of the person in question until I see serious and honorable repentance, but I will continue to watch. I understand others will find this position unacceptable. I have spent a lot of time coming to this stance.
My two other favorite Spacey movies bracket “The Usual Suspects”, “Glengarry Glen Ross” in 1992, and “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” in 1997. Each of them are pearls for me, exquisite movie experiences. Incredible casts working with amazing material. Curiously, the characters are similar. Each man has a surface veneer to his personality, one that never more than hints at the twisted secrets at the center of his soul. This was the character that Spacey perfected. Perhaps now we know where he drew those depths from.
Here, Spacey is Verbal Kint, a man with a physical disability that limits his movements on one side of his body. Everyone is positive that Verbal is also stupid, and the character seems to believe what the world tells him. Following a massive shootout on a freighter that leaves dozens of bodies. Included are four members of Verbal’s friends/associates. A mysterious crime lord known only as Keyser Soze drew them into a series of increasingly violent crimes. No one knows who he is or if he even exists, but the stories about Soze are terrifying. The police are trying to piece the truth together from Verbal’s convoluted story of what happened. How much is true? How much are lies? How much of it is just the disjointed ramblings of a simple-minded fool?
The first time I watched this movie, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. I had no idea who Keyser Soze was. I wasn’t alone. The director convinced every member of the cast that their character was the criminal mastermind. When the truth was revealed, one member had a thirty-minute argument about why the ending was wrong. I’m still impressed with the simplicity of the reveal. It’s beautiful, and complete. When I watched it again (after realizing I’d never done a review for it), I was just as struck by the perfection of it all.
I have to note the amazing cast around Spacey here. Gabriel Byrne is intense, Benicio Del Toro is wonderful as a man who swallows everything he says. Stephen Baldwin plays the psycho member to a turn. You watch his control of the last threads of sanity slowly slipping away. Pete Postlethwaite is perfect as the calm, collected functionary and go-between, while Chazz Palminteri is the Customs Agent who knows he’s one step away from solving the case, and maybe catching the legendary crime boss. But it doesn’t stop there. Kevin Pollak, Suzy Amis, Giancarlo Esposito, Dan Hedaya, and Clark Gregg have small but flawless roles in pushing the story forward. Nothing moves in a straight line here.
Of my three favorite Spacey movies “Glengarry, Glen Ross” is easily the top. For me, it makes the list of “perfect” movies. There’s not a misplaced step in any aspect of the film. “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” struck me as slightly less complete. This movie splits the difference, but falls a little closer to the top than the bottom. It may not be perfect, but it’s on the list of movies everyone should see at least once.
You can stream “The Usual Suspects” on almost any service. Amazon Prime, YouTube, YouTube TV, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Tubi, Roku Channel, Pluto TV, MGM+, Fandango, Philo, Sling TV.
Rating – ***** Highest Recommendation
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