The Usual Suspects
Cast
Stephen Baldwin .... Michael McManus
Gabriel Byrne .... Dean Keaton
Benicio Del Toro .... Fred Fenster
Kevin Pollak .... Todd Hockney
Kevin Spacey .... Roger 'Verbal' Kint
Directed by
Bryan Singer
Rater #2 has description and review.
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #2
7/10. Bryan Singer's The Usual Suspects is one of the few famous movies now
that still has an aura of mystery around its ending. Meaning, of
course, that I've stumbled upon it, so there was no real surprise for
me about it, but I'll get to that later. The Usual Suspects won two
Oscars: best supporting actor (Kevin Spacey), and best original
screenplay (Christopher McQuarrie). Both were won deservedly, but it
should have also won Most Confusing Screenplay and Most Stuff
Happening On Screen At One Time So It Is Hard To Tell What Is
Happening.
Five criminals, McManus (Stephen Baldwin), Keaton (Gabriel Byrne),
Fenster (Benicio Del Toro), Hockney (Kevin Pollak), and Verbal Kint
(Spacey), are all in a line-up, when there is usually one suspect.
They suspect something, and aim to get revenge, but someone higher up
is controlling them. If you understand this plot fully, please tell
me.
Since I knew the ending, there was no mystery, but I still found The
Usual Suspects to be engaging and never boring. I knew the ending,
who Keyser Soze was, but not how he was involved, so that added
another interesting aspect to it. The acting and chemistry made the
not-quite-believable scenario that they're in. Spacey, who was really
more in a main role than supporting, wasn't as good as his other
Oscar-winning role in American Beauty, but he was quite good.
Everyone else was very good also, and had amazing chemistry with each
other (think Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid chemistry).
If you've read about the ending, you can still appreciate how it is
unraveled (only paralled to The Sixth Sense on how it's revealed), as
I sure did. Overall, The Usual Suspects is an entertaining, if
suspense-less movie that I think everyone in their life will see at
least once.
Rater #3
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #4
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rated R for strong language.
Running time: 106 minutes
Back Home