DVD Movie Rating for: Usual Suspects

4 out of 5

Movie Plot of: Usual Suspects

After a waterfront explosion, Verbal (Kevin Spacey), an eye-witness and participant tells the story of events leading up to the conflagration. The story begins when five men are rounded up for a line-up, and grilled about a truck hijacking (the usual suspects). Least pleased is Keaton (Gabriel Byrne) a crooked cop - exposed, indicted, but now desperately trying to go straight. The cops won't leave him alone, however, and as they wait for their lawyers to post bail, he is talked into doing one more job with the other four. All goes tolerably well until the influence of the legendary, seemingly omnipotent "Keyser Soze" is felt. Although set in the modern day, it has much of the texture of the forties, plus suspense, intrigue (a fairly high body count), and lots of twists in the plot.

DVD Production Details of: Usual Suspects

Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Spacey

Director: Bryan Singer

Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen

Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios
DVD Features:
Commentary by director Bryan Singer and screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie

Theatrical trailer(s)

Collectible Behind-the-Scenes Booklet

Full-screen and widescreen letterbox formats

Cast of the movie: Usual Suspects

• Gabriel Byrne .... Dean Keaton
• Kevin Spacey .... Roger 'Verbal' Kint
• Stephen Baldwin .... McManus
• Chazz Palminteri .... Dave Kujan
• Pete Postlethwaite .... Kobayashi
• Kevin Pollak .... Todd Hockney
• Benicio Del Toro .... Fred Fenster
• Suzy Amis .... Edie Finneran
• Giancarlo Esposito .... Jack Baer
• Dan Hedaya .... Jeff Rabin
• Paul Bartel .... Smuggler
• Carl Bressler .... Saul Berg
• Phillip Simon .... Fortier
• Jack Shearer .... Renault
• Christine Estabrook .... Dr. Plummer

Photo Gallery of the movie: Usual Suspects

Click on one of the thumbnails to see the full size, high resolution photographs

Usual Suspects

Reviews of the movie: Usual Suspects

Ever since this convoluted thriller dazzled audiences and critics in 1995 and won an Oscar for Christopher McQuarrie's twisting screenplay, The Usual Suspects has continued to divide movie lovers into opposite camps. While a lot of people take great pleasure from the movie's now-famous central mystery (namely, "Who is Keyser Söze?"), others aren't so easily impressed by a movie that's too enamored of its own cleverness to make much sense. After all, what are we to make of a final scene that renders the entire movie obsolete? Half the fun of The Usual Suspects is the debate it provokes and the sheer pleasure of watching its dynamic cast in action, led (or should we say, misled) by Oscar winner Kevin Spacey as the club-footed con man who recounts the saga of enigmatic Hungarian mobster Keyser Söze. Spacey's in a band of thieves that includes Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollak, and Benicio Del Toro, all gathered in a plot to steal a large shipment of cocaine. The story is told in flashback as a twisted plot being described by Spacey's character to an investigating detective (Chazz Palmintieri), and The Usual Suspects is enjoyable for the way it keeps the viewer guessing right up to its surprise ending. Whether that ending will enhance or extinguish the pleasure is up to each viewer to decide. Even if it ultimately makes little or no sense at all, this is a funny and fiendish thriller, guaranteed to entertain even its vocal detractors.

a masterpiece of cinematic intrigue and suspense

The Usual Suspects is, quite simply, a masterpiece of cinematic intrigue and suspense. At various points throughout its runtime, it is almost disarmingly comic, action-packed and insightful, yet at any given point when the film seems to be conforming to the cliches of its genre, the director is merely toying with the viewer and laying the foundations for one of cinema's most memorable climaxes.

The plot largely involves a police interrogation of Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey) as to the events between the meeting of him and four other prolific criminals at a line-up and an arson attack on a suspected drug boat six weeks later. There is a series of flashbacks detailing how the band became implicated in the labyrinthine affairs of the fearsome criminal mastermind, Keyser Soze. This character is particularly fascinating, in spite of - or perhaps because of - the fact that he scarcely appears in the film.

The Usual Suspects benefits enormously from a lively (and Oscar-winning) script, especially during dialogue amongst the criminals themselves, but also because of the idiosyncracies of Verbal, who suffers from cerebral palsy. There are also several memorable acting performances, notably from Benicio del Toro, who steals every scene he speaks in with his bizarre and invariably profane accent.

Perhaps there are many weaknesses to this film, but the fact is that the strength of the conclusion is such that the viewer would be hard-pressed to recall them. The sheer originality of Bryan Singer's artistry overshadows any such flaws [Irish-American is one thing, but Gabriel Byrne's accent is surely closer to Bray than Boston]. The director preys on the assumptions and prejudices of the audience to draw it in, and as the final piece of the puzzle is about to be placed, the folly of these assumptions is exposed in spectacular fashion.

I feel anything further would be a spoiler so I'll conclude. Watch this movie, fall for its charms, take the bait and be utterly bowled over by what transpires. .