In the final pulse pounding moments in the Bogart classic film Casablanca, at the Casablanca Airport, Rick, an American refugee, and sympathizer of the underground European resistance to the Nazi movement, has just shot and killed Major Strasser of the Third Reich in the presence of Casablanca's Chief of Police, Capitan Renault. As other officers arrive on the scene Capitan Renault must make a choice: does he arrest Rick or let him go? "Major Strasser has been shot! Round up the usual suspects!" and away Bogie and Raines go into a beautiful friendship.
In recalling writing this scene, the Epstein Brothers reference the fact that they loved the idea that Capitan Renault would have a group of guys, shady ruffians, common criminals, he would round up at any time and interrogate them for crimes in Casablanca. What happens in the cell where Renault's "suspects" are rounded up? What to they talk about? What becomes of these guys?
53 years later, Christopher McQuarrie takes this concept and writes a masterpiece of cinematic timelessness that launches the careers of Kevin Spacey, Bryan Singer and Benicio Del Toro into stardom. The genesis was actually kind of quirky. McQuarrie always wanted to see a billing poster for a film with a line up of five criminals and the tag line would be "All of you can go to Hell". Goofy, but hey, who's to argue when the product comes out this good.
"Who is Keyser Soze?" At the time, "Who is Bryan Singer?" seemed to be the more appropriate question. Up to this point, we knew very little about the 27-year-old director. The Usual Suspects was Singer's first studio picture, and second feature. If you still don't know who he is, check out the directing credits for X-Men, X Men 2, Apt Pupil and Superman Returns. Much of The Usual Suspects's success is also due largely to editor and composer John Ottman who Singer credits for making sense of his movies and giving him any credibility as a competent director. The two first collaborated on Public Access and have worked together on every movie Singer has done.
Okay, to the film. If you haven't seen this film, you have missed one of Hollywood's greatest triumphs in the last 20 years. The Usual Suspects turned the crime thriller on its side and invented the genre of super twist mysteries. Suspects created an inroad for films like Primal Fear, Fight Club, and Saw.
The plot of The Usual Suspects is about 5 career criminals who are picked up by the police, interrogated about a truck heist, then, when left alone in a holding cell, form a crew.
The film starts with the investigation of a botched drug buy, and an interview with the only survivor- Rodger "Verbal" Kint (Kevin Spacey). As the story progresses, we are introduced to a cast of players: Former NYPD Detective turned criminal, Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne); sharpshooter and cold blooded killer, Michael McManus (Stephen Baldwin); hijacker and thief, Todd Hockney (Kevin Pollak); and McManus's mumbling sidekick, Fred Fenster (Benicio Del Toro).
As Kint lays out the happenings of these unfortunate misfits to Special Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) the name of super criminal "Keyser Soze" is mentioned, and the story takes a dark twist into the world of international organized crime. The crew then finds them selves caught up in a whirl wind downward spiral that leads them to take on the job of steeling 20 million dollars of cocaine for Soze, back from a group of Hungarian drug dealers. The drugs and the Hungarians are located on board a ship. The details of the ship, and complete files on each of the "suspects", are passed out to the crew by Soze's lawyer, Kobayashi (Pete Postlethwaite), as well as details on how each crew member has accidentally stolen from, or interfered with Soze in the past.
With out giving away any of the twists or spoilers, The Usual Suspects is to criminal thrillers, what Silence of the Lambs was to FBI mysteries. McQuarrie and Singer put together a spell binding film that demands to be watched two or three times at the very least. If you haven't seen this film, don't wait another moment, rent or buy it now. Notable performances by: Benicio Del Toro and Kevin Pollak, as well as Gabriel Byrne and Stephen Baldwin.
If you doubt my opinion, and need some proof, take a look at the Oscars from 1995. Kevin Spacey, nominated for Best Supporting Actor in The Usual Suspects; Christopher McQuarrie, nominated for Best Original Screenplay The Usual Suspects.
"The Usual Suspects" opens August 18, 1995 and is rated R. Crime, Mystery, Thriller. Directed by Bryan Singer. Written by Christopher McQuarrie. Starring Benicio Del Toro, Chazz Palminteri, Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Spacey, Pete Postlethwaite, Stephen Baldwin.
