Name - The Usual Suspects
Released - 1995
Director - Bryan Singer
The mystery genre is quite big and there are many contenders for this crown and it is hard to narrow it down to a favorite. If we were talking about a tv series, it would be easy enough. Lostfor me was just totally awesome and addictive viewing. Waiting each week for where the plot twist would take us. If you haven't seen it, you need to drop everything and forget the next 6 weeks of your life until you do.
However, in the film arena, I managed to narrow it down to two possible candidates, and I'm still not sure that one actually trumps the other because they are both absolute classics that had me coming back for more but in different ways.
The runner-up this week is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo directed by the magnificent David Fincher. That has got to be one of the best movie opening scenes ever made.
Fincher somehow transforms Bond (Daniel Craig) and creates on-screen chemistry that just knocks this film out of the park. The performance with Rooney and how her character is brought to life is just mind-blowing. I have read the books and seen the original Swedish versions which I thoroughly enjoyed, but this is the version that sticks in my mind. This is arguably Fincher's best work since Fight Club.
But my favorite mystery film by a neck is The Usual Suspects. Initially, I came across this film expecting something completely different from what it delivered. Afterward, I thought this isn't a film that I really like but it grows on you.
The film packs an all-star cast including Kevin Spacey, Chazz Palminteri, Gabriel Byrne, a young Stephen Baldwin, and Benicio Del Torro. All are great on-screen presences and play their parts well.
Kevin Spacey is just out of this world. He was on fire at this time in his career and a few years later went on to make the not-so-well-acclaimed KPax film which is another must-watch if you like his films.
He delivers his lines so well and switches characters convincingly. He does it so well you need to watch the film again to do a double take on the question of if he really can be Keyser Soze. He delivers the stories so well, he bonds with Chazz really well. The dialogues are convincing and enjoyable.
Chazz who has a great look and voice in all his films and roles compliments Spacey and together you go off on a great mysterious journey. The other characters then bring the story to life as Spacey narrates but they each have their own quirks and nuances and you can but help feel attached to them.
► My favorite scene
My favorite scene is one of the best of all time where Verbal (Spacey) limps out of the office and the mind blown Officer Kujan (Chazz) drops his coffee cup.
We are so often seeing criminals confess all their crimes and sing like a canary to the police and here we get another twist on that! The real mastery of the film is laid bare but we are still left wanting and needing answers.
The film impacted me strongly because it took a lot of time to contemplate what the ending meant. We are given a few clews, such as when he stops limping. But we still cant be sure with Verbal's name and if everything he described was a fabrication.
The film has gathered a cult-like status and the name Keyser Soze has gone down in history as one of the most real or imaginable characters in history.
Thanks for reading.
► Trailer:
Credits:
The Keving Spacey image is a still shot taken from the released trailer here..
The title image was created by myself in canva using also a still shot taken from the released trailer.
Used under fair-use section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976.
