1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- The Usual Suspects

#939- The Usual Suspects (1995)
Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Spacey, Stephen Baldwin
Directed by: Bryan Singer


Plot Summary: Dean Keaton is a former corrupt police officer, Michael McManus is a short-tempered thief, Fred Fenster is McManus's partner in crime, Todd Hockney is a professional hijacker and Verbal Kint is a con man with cerebral palsy. These five men are brought together in a police lineup and hatch a plan to rob New York's corrupt cops. After committing another robbery, it is revealed to them that they have been hired to attack a ship on the San Pedro harbor by a lawyer named Kobayashi, who works for the mysterious Keyser Söze.


I didn't know what I was expecting when I decided to sit down and watch The Usual Suspects. Aside from it's now famous twist ending (which I still will not spoil for anyone who hasn't seen this film yet), I was curious what set this movie apart from other gangster movies. And as I delved deeper into the movie, I figured out what it was, the characters. The main image of the film is our five main characters in a prison lineup. And like a prison lineup, the movie serves as a study of these five characters, their distinct personalities, and their development throughout the film. Instead of giving away major plot details, I thought I'd simply talk about the main characters, which I believe are the selling point of the film.

Gabriel Byrne plays Dean Keaton. Keaton serves as the main face and voice of the group and Byrne does a good job in contributing to that role. Byrne plays Keaton as someone who seems very tired. He feels like a seasoned veteran with knowledge in crime and the law. He seems like a natural-born leader and does a good job of taking control of scenarios. Byrne can play Keaton as calm and collected, while also playing him as temperamental and impulsive. What's great about that is that it feels like Byrne was channeling Keaton's past and showing that he is a character with flaws.

Kevin Spacey plays Roger "Verbal" Kint, the con man with cerebral palsy. Spacey plays Kint with a good sense of innocence and even gives him a code of ethics and morality, as far as a criminal could have at least. Kint also serves as the film's narrator, so we see the events of the film through Kint's point of view. The most important factor that Spacey can give Kint is his voice. With an alias like "Verbal," Spacey had to give Kint a very distinct pace and tone of how he talks, and I felt Spacey was able to succeed in that, as Kint has a very soothing tone, very befitting of a narrator.

My favorite character in The Usual Suspects is Michael McManus, played by Stephen Baldwin. McManus brings the right level of youth and professionalism to the group. His introduction painted him as a young, rebellious type, but after the famous lineup scene, he is the character to take control of the situation. McManus is the big instigator of the idea to rob the crooked New York cops, and even questions if Keaton has gone soft, not wanting him to be a part of the group after he grills Keaton about his newly reformed life. I'm not sure why I was expecting Stephen Baldwin to under-perform as McManus (might have something to do with the acting reputations of the Baldwin brothers that are not named Alec), but I was pleasantly surprised with the performance he gave.

It's hard to talk about Fred Fenster, played by Benicio Del Toro, without talking about how he speaks. Del Toro gives Fenster a Latin lover look with a very distinct voice. Half of his humor comes in a mixture of the way his voice sounds and his half-mangled English. There isn't a lot of depth to Fenster, but his main relationship to the group is his friendship with McManus, which is established before the group of five get together.

Kevin Pollak plays Todd Hockney. Hockney's humor is very dry, which I think Pollak portrays wonderfully. Hockney is that voice of pessimism in the group, who seems to mostly only be interested in his share of the profit. He has his good share of one-liners, but can turn into a very serious, soft-spoken player in the group's scheme. I felt like Todd Hockney was a good fit for the group as someone who was in the background for a good part of it, and voiced his thoughts when it suited him, and Pollak has a great way of contributing to that role and rounding out an outstanding cast of characters.


Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The characters are good as an ensemble, but can be a tad bland individually. I know I'll watch the movie many more times in my life, but for the casual moviegoer, I'd recommend watching The Usual Suspects once, particularly for the characters and its great plot twist at the end.
 
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The Usual Suspects and movie images are copyrighted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer