The Usual Suspects (1995)

The Usual Suspects

Call No: TEMP 1420

There are a number of movies that I enjoy watching more than once. I don’t mean coming across them on television and watching them. I mean taking time out of my day to sit down and give my complete attention to a film that I’ve already seen. The Great Escape and anything by Billy Wilder usually fall into that category. So does The Usual Suspects. Even though I’ve seen it a few times before, I enjoyed sitting down again to watch it. I get caught up in it every time.

Here’s the basic set-up of the film: When an explosion on a boat kills a number of people, the cops must turn to the only man who can help: witness and cripple, Verbal Kint. But before Verbal can begin to talk about the explosion and the events leading up to it he has to go back to where it all started, with five criminals meeting in a police line-up.

I knew that when I wrote this review, I would have trouble. This is because that the majority of things I want to comment on have to do with the plot, which if you haven’t seen the movie, can contain serious spoilers. I first saw the film about four years ago and at the insistence of my younger sister, who had seen it in senior film class. I asked her what it was about. “It’s about five guys in a police line-up” is the answer I received. Once I saw the film, I understood. If you haven’t seen the film, you should. But I will try my best to be very careful at not giving anything away in this review.

This is one of the more vulgar films I’ve reviewed in terms of language. While the use of swear words in certain contexts make me wince, it seems to work in this film. It adds an unusual sort of authenticity to the five criminals, who are all strong and exceptional actors to start with. Kevin Spacey is excellent as Verbal, not only in terms of character but also his physical acting. Gabriel Bryne uses his trademark quiet persona to unnerve rather than comfort. Kevin Pollack, usually the sidekick or hero type, is excellent as an unsympathetic and unfeeling criminal in the film. Stephen Baldwin holds up the family acting name with his maniac and intense performance. Benicio Del Toro, who could have been easily used in a stronger role, does a great job as the comic relief (mostly due to his intentionally overplayed accent).

The five usual suspects, a nod to the famous film quote
from Casablanca: "Round up the usual suspects."

Another one of the film’s strengths comes from the storytelling. As the audience, we come into the film after the fact when the crime has already been committed and the bodies are being counted. The majority of the film is spent playing catch-up, as the story switches between Verbal telling the story to the police, and watching the events of the story unfold. While it’s very simplistic and basic in its execution, it is very effective. By keeping the execution of the story simple, the story is allowed to weave and fluidly shift perspectives without losing the viewer.

While not everyone is a fan of the language, the violence is mild and the story is beyond engaging. While some may classify this as a “guy film”, there is enough interesting material and storytelling to keep everyone interested. Though five guys in a line-up may not sound like an exciting beginning, it is. As Verbal explains in the beginning, “You don’t put guys like that in a room together. Who knows what can happen?”