The Usual Suspects
"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the rest of the world that he didn't exist"

To try and sum up a film as complex as The Usual Suspects in 40 words or less would be impossible, which is why it's my third favourite film of all time. The basic plot - five professional criminals meet during a police lineup - doesn't begin to cover the sheer level of complexity and detail, such as the fact that one of them - Dean Keaton (pictured) - is trying to go straight, or their involvement with Kobayashi the lawyer and his boss, the mysterious überganster Keyser Soze, or the fact that it's all told in flashback from the perspective of 'Verbal' Clint (pictured far below) confessing all to the cops in LA.

What makes this film extra special for me is the way it seems to twist halfway through. This is just my interpretation, but from the moment the five get stung by Redfern the fence recommended by McManus (pictured) into doing Keyser Soze's dirty work or dying horribly (along with most of their nearest and dearest) it seems to change from a complex noir-ish ganster film into a work of fantasy. Suddenly the criminals become like the mythical heroes of old, trapped in an unreal fantasy world and forced to do the work of the epitome of evil, unable to cry out or fight back because there is nobody around who will listen - those few who might believe them are either out to get them or are servants of the darkness who will willingly destroy them and their lives if they disobay their master's wishes. Don't believe me? Look at those shots of the oriental temple where they meet Redfern, the LA skyline just before the Suspects try to take out Kobayashi, or Keaton's reflection in the window of the meeting where his lawyer girlfriend is working with Kobayashi.

Add to this a classical soundtrack that manages to be both intense, exciting and mournful at the same time, not to mention one of the most impressive twist endings of any film of the past ten years, and you have a film that is far more lyrical and moving than any gangster flick of the 90s is supposed to be. Although it's a shame that there's only one female character, and she's pretty token. But then, this is a film about a very masculine world that isolates and marginalises everyone and thing else. Including women.

(Please note, all pictures displayed here are not mine are used without permission of their owners because I'm recommending that you go out and rent/see/buy a copy of this film, thus increasing their profits. However, should they disapprove, please can they mail me and I'll remove them.)

On to the next film
Back to the previous film
Back to the Film Reviews
Back to the Books of Reviews
Back to the Library

[Clerks] [Bagdad Cafe] [The Usual Suspects] [The Hudsucker Proxy] [Casablanca] [The Frighteners] [Scream]
[The Crow] [Boys on the Side] [Heathers]