The Usual Suspects
 (Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(1995)
review by Died with Boots On

Dean Keaton (Byrne), an ex-cop turned professional criminal who has professedly gone straight, and known for his steely demeanor and nerves of iron. Michael McManus (Baldwin), a man whose psychosis blurs the line between what is morally upright and reprehensible. Todd Hockney (Pollak), a mechanic whose hands are more accustomed to working with homemade bombs than the underbelly of an automobile, and harnessing an instinct for self-preservation. Fred Fenster (Del Toro), McManus' partner with a nearly indecipherable accent. And Verbal Klint (Spacey), a crippled con man who earned his nickname by being known to talk incessantly. These are the usual suspects.

"Hand me the fucking keys, you cocksucker," as scrawled on a slip of paper and passed down the police lineup, is repeated by our usual suspects, each putting their own personal touch on the delivery. United States Customs Special Agent Dave Kujan (Palminteri), followed by an entourage of police officers, flood a small interrogation room where each member of our established lineup keeps their lips tight and the face deadpan. All, that is, except McManus, who would rather showboat and behave without restraint. Kujan, however, is primed to get his man, the ringleader of the hijacking of a truckload of black market guns. No one cracks, and in frustration, Kujan locks Keaton and company in a holding cell for the night, deliberating on his next move. As our protagonists pass the time by any means necessary, they hatch a plan for an elaborate emerald heist. And that is just the conception of a very long, prodigious flashback as told by our narrator, Verbal Klint.

Verbal sits at an arms length from the overbearing, paranoid Kujan who made sure to snatch Mr. Klint after he was released with immunity. Flashing between the present and the past, the audience is eased into circumstances with ubiquitous characters, and gradually, the skein of deceptions and plot devices is untangled. Or does it become more tangled? We follow our small group of vigilantes as they dismantle an underground circuit of dirty cops who act as a taxi service for drug smugglers. After recuperating from this ripple-effect attack on the LAPD, our contingent shakes hands on a deal with a schmuck who promises a wealth of lettuce and several briefcases of blow. While executing the job, things get hairy as one of the drivers concealing a gun is now guarding one of the target briefcases with his life. Verbal shoots the uncooperative man point blank in defense of Keaton's life. After realizing there is no money to be had, tension proliferates between McManus and the "helping hand" mob boss. McManus is told that the information was trickled down from some "limey" he knows, who is also requesting a vis-à-vis meeting with the troop.

As the film builds to its conclusion, the name "Keyser Soze" becomes more and more prevalent. It Is doubtable that a Keyser Soze even exists, that he is just an idea, like Lucifer himself, a myth told by criminals at the dinner table. "Don't rat on your pop, or Keyser Soze will come to get you!" Nevertheless, the legendary name is enough to instill fear into a man as hardened as Keaton. No one has ever born witness to Mr. Soze, and if they have, they never knew it. But now, his reputation preceding him, Keyser Soze is asking for a favor in return for past infidelities to his Pakistani mafia. We find out that he was at the bottom of the police lineup, that his power is so far-reaching that he can even manipulate the Los Angeles Police Department. "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn't exist." Much is the case with our elusive crime leviathan.

Director Bryan Singer has crafted a cult worthy noir thriller in "The Usual Suspects." This feature is steeped in atmosphere, and borrows heavily from a plethora of greats, from Alfred Hitchcock, to Martin Scorsese, to The Coen Brothers, and just about every other master of the genre, past or present. In the "Tarantinian" image of "Pulp Fiction" or "Reservoir Dogs," Singer's greatest strength is culling moments from genre clichés and using them in his own mold, but infused with freshness that results from the manner in which Singer has produced it. The adrenal, serpentine plot lays the foundation for a setting ideal for our band of brothers to wreak havoc.

Though some would call Kevin Spacey's performance "wooden," I beg to differ. Spacey's character, Verbal, in a way, reminds me of John Doe featured in "Se7en." A man who, for the duration of the film, or for the latter acts, in the case of "Se7en," is feebly resigned, and yet seems to have the upper hand. In my God-honest option, Spacey was the obvious choice for this role, and his disjointed limp only augments the dynamic of his character. The entire cast was airtight, from an unexpectedly good performance from Stephen Baldwin, whose pageantry was delivered in such a way as to instill a sense of doubt in the sanity of his character, to the foul, cold-blooded Kevin Pollak. Benicio Del Toro's Fenster is the unquestionable inspiration for Guy Ritchie's Mickey O'Neil, as performed by Brad Pitt.

Though at times paced to the caliber of boredom, the film is a fast moving cinematic masterstroke that can leave you scratching you head in the blink of an eye. I found this movie in the same vein as Alexandre Aja's "Haute Tension," a film that I found shallowly captivating until the abrupt climax, and thereafter, denouement. In my opinion, "The Usual Suspects," while showcasing an artistic fluency and action-saturated atmosphere, hinges on its plot twist. For without it, my review would not be one of recommendation, but of caution. However, judging the film in its entirety, I issue the green light to anyone hunting for a stylistic popcorn film with a cerebral final act.