Rating of
4/4
The Usual Suspects review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 08/23/11
U.S. Customs special agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) interrogates a crippled con man with cerebral palsy named Roger “Verbal” Kint (Kevin Spacey) about the incident that happened in a docked ship at the Port of LA. He mentions that there were 4 other criminals, a criminal mastermind who killed everybody insight. The criminals involved in the story were Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), a crooked ex police officer; Michael McManus (Stephen Baldwin), a ill-tempered thief; Fred Fenster (Benicio del Toro), McManus' partner whose manner of speaking is distorted; Todd Hockney (Kevin Pollak), a hijacker and Verbal. Everything boils down to the confession of Kint’s story, be it valid or fabricated. Certain figures were involved in his story, Kobayashi and Keyser Söze. Söze is an evil criminal believed to be the “devil himself” according to Verbal. Kujan tries his best to resolve a puzzle that needs valuable pieces to put things together.
In my belief, the film has one of the best casts ever assembled since the artists are matched for each character they portrayed. Each one is very likable, coupled with the onscreen chemistry of the actors adds to the films legacy. The drama, mystery and humor were effective in many scenes. Other than the groundbreaking and engaging screenplay, the musical score and cinematography was brilliant. A few amazing lines from the film: Kobayashi – “One cannot be betrayed if one has no people.” Dave Kujan – “A rumor's not a rumor that doesn't die.” The story’s pace was continuous and smooth, grasping your attention until the conclusion. Themes of deception, trust and fate were evident and the characters played a huge part in the tale. In the words of Verbal – “You never knew. That was his power. The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.” Sometimes, we know it was good and yet it still got better towards the movies conclusion. The Usual Suspects was never suspect in its entertainment value and is definitely one of the greatest films of its genre.
