FREE ESSAY ON USUAL SUSPECTS

USUAL SUSPECTS

The Usual Suspects 
Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Spacey
Director: Bryan Singer
Genre: Thriller
Year: 1995
Rating: 5 / 5 
When it was released in 1995, The Usual Suspects was hailed as original, inventive, and,
most of all, unpredictable. Having now seen this movie well over a dozen times, I can say
that its impact is just as powerful today as it was the first time I saw it. In what I
consider to be the best movie-making year of all-time, The Usual Suspects nonetheless
distinguishes itself from everything else, offering a fresh take on the mystery and
suspense genre. 
As The Usual Suspects opens, we find Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey, in an Oscar-winning role)
the object of a police interrogation. He is one of only two known survivors of an
explosive evening on a docked cargo ship, and the police want answers. Verbal was one of
an elite group of known criminals involved in a police lineup in New York five weeks
prior, and the rest are presumed to be dead from the previous night's explosion. From
this opening interrogation, soon conducted solely by Special Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz
Palminteri), we are shown pieces of the puzzle that lead to the events on the cargo ship.

Five convicted felons - Spencer McManus (Stephen Baldwin, The Young Riders), Dean Keaton
(Gabriel Byrne), Fred Fenster (Benicio Del Toro), Todd Hockney (Kevin Pollak, A Few Good
Men *cc/fewgoodmen.html*), and Verbal Kint - are brought in to answer for charges of
gun-theft, a crime for which all five profess their innocence. Crowded together in their
cell, however, McManus is able to convince most of the others that these charges are not
just an inconvenience, but an opportunity. Their combined talents would be perfectly
suited to a job he has in mind, if he can convince the now-straight Keaton to return to
his old ways. Keaton has attempted to set himself up as a respectable businessman, yet
his past continues to haunt him, to the point where the authorities will not allow him to
lead a normal life. Convinced of this, Keaton reluctantly climbs aboard, and the chase is
on. 
As the action swerves from New York City to California, the group begins to discover that
they are no longer working for themselves, but a mysterious behind-the-scenes individual,
known only by his messenger, Kobayashi (Pete Postlethwaite). It seems the group's
services are needed to destroy $91 million worth of cocaine on a cargo ship. Upon
completion of this task, the ominous, threatening presence of Kobayashi and his master
will be gone, and the five can resume their lives as they see fit. No one knows for sure
what to make of this mission, yet each knows that it is one which must be completed, for
they do not wish to have to answer to Kobayashi. 
Superbly acted, The Usual Suspects jerks the viewer back and forth between various
theories throughout the movie. This group of then-unknown actors delivers in many ways,
and the viewer is glued to his seat right up until the thrilling conclusion. If you have
already had the pleasure of viewing this movie, see it again. If not, be sure to give
this modern classic a chance. These five suspects are anything but, and this movie is
definitely not the usual fare. 
Cast:
Stephen Baldwin.......... Spencer McManus 
Gabriel Byrne.......... Dean Keaton 
Benicio Del Toro.......... Fred Fenster 
Kevin Pollak.......... Todd Hockney 
Kevin Spacey.......... Verbal Kint 
Chazz Palminteri.......... Dave Kujan 
Pete Postlethwaite.......... Kobayashi 
Certification: Rated R for violence and language.
Running Time: 106 minutes.