The Usual Suspects (1995)

Amazon Review

Dark, tortuous, labyrinthine, a tour de force of audience misdirection, The Usual Suspects is one of the key thrillers–no make that key films–of the 90s. A foreign cargo ship explodes in a California harbour. Six weeks earlier, five ill-assorted criminals find themselves side-by-side on a police line-up. Linking the two events (or so it seems) is master criminal Keyser Soze. Legendary and unseen, his very name enough to strike terror. As police and the customs officals investigate the explosion, a complex series of flashbacks spirals out from the airless room where Customs-agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) interrogates the gang’s sole survivor, the aptly named Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey in a career-defining performance).

The writing is close-textured and sinewy–an ingenious heist scam enough in itself to fuel most regular thrillers, is thrown away in the first 15 minutes–and a matchless ensemble cast give it all they’ve got. The film plays intricate games with perception and belief: the more we’re shown and told, the less we can rely on. Who is Keyzer Soze? Does he exist at all? Even after we’ve seen the final twist, questions still remain. This is a film to see, enjoy and argue over time and again. –Philip Kemp. Click here to read the original article.

My Little Empire Review

The Usual Suspects in a who shot who and who is still standing while looking for the real bad guy kind of movie. Great performances all around and especially Kevin Spacey gives a career-defining performance. The best scene is in witch Kevin Spacey is telling a police man “Who is Keyzer Soze?” and that he was in the harbour killing many men and like that he was gone. I wont ruin it for anybody who has not seen it.

The Usual Suspects Trailer

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