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The Usual Suspects (1995)
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TYPE OF FILM: Crime
STUDIO: PolyGram
PRODUCERS: Bryan Singer and Michael McDonnell
DIRECTOR: Bryan Singer
SCREENWRITER: Christopher McQuarrie
SOURCE: Original
RUNNING TIME: 105 minutes
PRINCIPAL PLAYERS:
Gabriel Bryne………………………………………………………………………….Dean Keaton
Kevin Spacey…………………………………………………………….….Ronald “Verbal” Kint
Stephen Baldwin………………………………………………………………..Michael McManus
Kevin Pollak………………………………………………………………….……..Todd Hockney
Chazz Palminteri…………………………………………………………………….…Dave Kujan
Pete Postlethwaite……………………………………………………………….….Mr. Kobayashi
Suzy Amis…………………………………………………………………..………..Edie Finneran
Benicio Del Toro………………………………………………………………………Fred Fenster
Giancarlo Esposito……………………………………………………………………….Jack Baer
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DID YOU KNOW?
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One of the most improbable and enigmatic figures in cinema history is Keyser Soze, the ultimate criminal who virtually no one living has seen, though mythology surrounds him to the point where he is described as “the devil himself.” As the police attempt to learn his identity, audiences are given several clues, though they are admittedly abstruse. The role had always been intended for Kevin Spacey, who has the same initials as Keyser Soze. Soze is referred to in The Usual Suspects as being Turkish, and the Turkish word soze means to talk, an obvious clue that Soze may be Verbal Kint. (Well, obvious if you speak Turkish.)
Five different people played the part of Soze at various times in the film. Both Gabriel Bryne’s and Kevin Spacey’s faces are shown as Soze, though not very clearly; an unnamed actor whose long hair obscures his face plays him in the flashback sequence where he is seen murdering his wife and children; and producer/director Brian Singer filmed himself and a friend when Soze’s feet are shown and when he lights a cigarette.
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THE STORY
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A boat at San Pedro pier explodes and the police discover $91,000,000, twenty-seven corpses, a frightened Hungarian terrorist, and a crippled two-bit crook named Roger “Verbal” (because he talks too much) Kint, who is brought in to explain what happened.
The events are all “the cops’ fault,” he explains because five crooks—the usual suspects—had been brought together for a lineup involving a truck hijacking and then thrown into a cell while awaiting their lawyers to post bail. “You don’t put guys like that in a room together,” Kint points out.
One of the five is Verbal and another is Dean Keaton, a crooked cop who had been caught and indicted but who wants to go straight. He is talked into one more job with the other four, and they set out to make a killing that is bigger and more complicated—and more dangerous—than they had ever expected.
They are approached by a Mr. Kobayashi, a representative of Keyser Soze, a legendary crime lord so powerful and ruthless that those few who know of his existence are paralyzed with fear at the mere sound of his name.
The plot involves an enormous drug transaction and a showdown at a boat that will ultimately be destroyed, taking with it the entire gang with the exception of Verbal. When the police interrogation finally concludes, Verbal is released. As he walks a few blocks away from the police station, his limp disappears, just as Detective Dave Kujan spots trivial clues that suggest that Verbal had fabricated every word of the extraordinary story he had told.
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Christopher McQuarrie won an Oscar for his very original and highly intelligent screenplay, in which he created one of the most challenging, creative and witty mystery films of recent years—an old-fashioned puzzle story updated with contemporary characters, dialogue, and restrained violence–without a car chase in sight.
The title of the motion picture is a reference to Casablanca, in which the French policeman Louis Renault (played by Claude Rains) listlessly tells his underlings to round up the usual suspects. The name of the production company, Blue Parrot/Bad Hat Harry Productions, is also a partial reference to Casablanca. The Blue Parrot was the name of the nightclub owned by Ferrari, the Sydney Greenstreet character. The other half of the name is a reference to Jaws, where one character on the beach greets another who is wearing a bathing cap, and says, “That’s not a bad hat, Harry.”
Kevin Spacey won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
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BEST LINE
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When asked whether he believes Keyser Soze exists, Verbal Kint replies, “I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze.”
