"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the World he didn't exist."

Five criminals are called in for a police line-up purely as they are the usual suspects for a truck hijacking. They know it's just a police shakedown but their coming together appears to be more than a coincidence and they are drawn into working together on one large job for the infamous Keyser Soze. The job ends in mayhem with 27 deaths and a large haul of drug money found at the scene of a boat explosion. Can the only two survivors offer the police an explanation?

"Keaton always said, "I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of him" - Well I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze."


skyjude review
As with a huge number of 90's movies (mainly following the exploits of Quentin Tarantino) crime movies had to be much more stylised than the grittier crime flicks of previous years. The Usual Suspects is no exception and positively gleams both in visual style and with the superb dialogue. Thanks in no small part to the wonderful cast and expert direction of Bryan Singer - the film really raised the bar for future crime mysteries. Based around a police interview with Spacey's character, the story is essentially told in flashbacks and yet is so well done that you get drawn into the story completely. And then we have the ending which makes us all feel a little foolish but much the better overall for having watched this superb movie.

Top 5 Reasons for Watching The Usual Suspects

[5] Benicio del Toro
Given a relatively small role as a then unknown actor, del Toro makes the character of Fenster come to life with some supremely observed subtleties. The walk (Tony Manero had nothing on this dude!) and particularly the accent make his role possibly the most endearing of all the characters. But be warned - "He'll flip ya' - flip ya' for real"

[4] Keyser Soze
Captivating audiences with actors in the lead roles can be hard enough but to create a character of this magnitude using only stories and flashbacks is very special indeed. Referenced throughout the movie Soze acts a little like a Hitchcock macguffin keeping the plot moving until the final reveal (see box out below right).

[3] The line-up
Filmed with the crew in hysterics and director Bryan Singer losing his patience with them this is a truly wonderful scene. Simply by reading out the line the police have passed to them we can identify perfectly with each of the characters even if Fenster needed to repeat it again in English (see box out below left).

[2] Kevin Spacey
While he'd been making a name for himself in the acting world prior to The Usual Suspects in movies such as the magnificent Glengarry Glen Ross, this was the movie that pushed Kevin Spacey to the front row of Hollywood. Collecting an Academy award for his troubles Spacey draws in not only the U.S. Customs officer interviewing him but the entire cinema audience.

[1] The ending
Some claim it was obvious, some claim it was too confusing. Indeed, there are still fans who maintain the reveal as accepted by most is actually wrong and the true identity of the mysterious Keyser Soze remains a mystery. I claim it's simply wonderful and provides the first and last word in crime movie twists. The film on it's own up to this point was fantastic but it really cements it's place in legend with the final few shots.


The Usual Suspects quotes

Keaton: His name is Verbal. Verbal Kint.
McManus: Verbal?
Keaton: Yeah.
Verbal: Roger, really. People say I talk too much.
Hockney: Yeah, I was just about to tell you to shut up.

Cop: You know what happens if you do another turn in the joint?
Hockney: Fuck your father in the shower and then have a snack? Are you going to charge me dickhead?

Dave Kujan: Do you know a dealer named Ruby Deamer, Verbal?
Verbal: Do you know a religious guy named John Paul?
Dave Kujan: Did you know Ruby's in Attica?
Verbal: He didn't have my lawyer.

Fenster: Man, I had a finger up my asshole tonight.
Hockney: Is it Friday already?

Verbal: Back when I was picking beans in Guatemala, we used to make fresh coffee, right off the trees I mean. That was good. This is shit but, hey, I'm in a police station.

Verbal: Where's your head, Agent Kujan? Where do you think the pressure's coming from? Keyser Soze, or whatever you want to call him, knows where I am right now. He's got the front burner under' your ass to let me go so he can scoop me up ten minutes later. Immunity was just to deal with you assholes. I got a whole new problem when I post bail.
Dave Kujan: So why play into his hands? We can protect you.
Verbal: Gee, thanks, Dave. Bang-up job so far. Extortion, coercion. You'll pardon me if I ask you to kiss my pucker. The same fuckers that rounded us up and sank us into this mess are telling me They'll bail me out? Fuck you. You think you can catch Keyser Soze? You think a guy like that comes this close to getting fingered and sticks his head out? If he comes up for anything, it will be to get rid of me. After that, my guess is you'll never hear from him again.

Verbal: Are you trying to get a rise out of me, Agent Kujan?

Fenster: I don't know anything about no fucking truck.
Cop: Oh, yeah? Well, your friend McManus told us a different story altogether.
Fenster: Oh, is that the one about the hooker with the dysentery?

Cop: I can put you in Queens on the night of the hijacking.
Hockney: Really? I live in Queens, did you put that together yourself, Einstein? Got a team of monkeys working around the clock on this?

Verbal: He lets the last Hungarian go. He waits until his wife and kids are in the ground and then he goes after the rest of the mob. He kills their kids, he kills their wives, he kills their parents and their parents' friends. He burns down the houses they live in and the stores they work in, he kills people that owe them money. And like that he was gone. Underground. Nobody has ever seen him since. He becomes a myth, a spook story that criminals tell their kids at night. "Rat on your pop, and Keyser Soze will get you." And no-one ever really believes.

Verbal: How do you shoot the devil in the back? What if you miss?

Verbal: What the cops never figured out and what I know now, was that these men would never break, never lie down, never bend over for anybody. Anybody.

Production companies: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Spelling Films International, Blue Parrot, Bad Hat Harry Productions, Rosco Film GmbH