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| (Image via PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, found at Quotesgram) |
The film centres
on the interrogation of Kevin Spacey’s Roger "Verbal" Kint – a con man
suffering from cerebral palsy who was the one of only two witnesses of a ship
explosion – as he explains the series of heists and other crimes that led him
and his partners to the dock where the ship exploded.
As this was
actually a movie I enjoyed, I’ll start with what was good.
Firstly, Spacey’s
performance is incredible. He believably embodies Kint, creating an authentic character
that is meek and nervous while still strong when necessary, and Spacey’s ability
to turn on a dime is impeccable. The screenplay is also really strong. Nothing overwhelmingly
poignant and no really memorable lines (other than the monologue at the end),
but at no point did I think the actions taking place were contrived or uncharacteristic
for the five suspects. Even Bryan Singer’s
direction while again not ground-breaking, or as visually precise as say
someone like Fincher or Nolan, was still perfect for the film and kept the
central ‘whodunit’ tension at the forefront of my mind.
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| (Image via PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, via DVDizzy) |
Now for what
didn’t work for me.
Really it was
the hype surrounding this film. I only recently watched The Usual Suspects after finally growing tired of hearing praise of
the film (it has an 8.6 on IMDb)
and seeing it being listed as one of the greatest twist-ending films of all
time. Compared to other films I love like Memento,
The Prestige, Se7en and Gone Girl
(sorry Lucy, I have to disagree with you on this one) sure the twist was surprising and very clever, but it left me
feeling like the whole movie up to the twist was crafted just so the twist
could pay off. Once knowing the twist, many earlier plot points seem incredibly
convenient or highly unbelievable (and many argue this was intentional, but it
still irks me).
It’s the sort of
thing where the more I thought about it, the more everything I had previously
enjoyed about the movie felt undercut. I think perhaps if the film had been
less overrated and I wasn’t expecting a ground-breaking twist I wouldn’t feel
so sour about this movie. By no means do I think The Usual Suspects is bad, and I definitely think if you’re into
crime mysteries you should give it a go, but just don’t go in for the twist or
expect to satisfyingly be able to piece the twist together before it happens.
3.5/5
– James
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