The Usual Suspects (1995)

Director:

Bryan Singer

Writer:

Christopher McQuarrie (written by)

Release Date:

16 August 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Five Criminals . One Line Up . No Coincidence

Plot:

A boat has been destroyed, criminals are dead, and the key to this mystery lies with the only survivor and his twisted, convoluted story beginning with five career crooks in a seemingly random police lineup.

Plot Keywords:

Criminal | Suspect | New York | Explosion | Revenge

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 22 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Stephen Baldwin	...	Michael McManus
Gabriel Byrne	...	Dean Keaton
Benicio Del Toro	...	Fred Fenster
Kevin Pollak	...	Todd Hockney
Kevin Spacey	...	Roger 'Verbal' Kint
Chazz Palminteri	...	Dave Kujan, US Customs
Pete Postlethwaite	...	Kobayashi
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Jack Baer, FBI
Suzy Amis	...	Edie Finneran
Dan Hedaya	...	Sgt. Jeffrey 'Jeff' Rabin
Paul Bartel	...	Smuggler
Carl Bressler	...	Saul Berg
Phillipe Simon	...	Fortier
Jack Shearer	...	Renault
Christine Estabrook	...	Dr. Plummer

Also Known As:

Die üblichen Verdächtigen (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and a substantial amount of strong language.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Hungarian | Spanish | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Philippines:R-18 | India:A | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Canada:14A | Chile:18 | Denmark:16 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:16 | Ireland:18 | Italy:T | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Trivia:

In German "Fenster" means "window".

Goofs:

Continuity: When the police investigator drops his coffee mug at the end of the film, we see several slow-mo shots of the mug breaking from different angles. However, instead of being several angles of the same action, the cup noticeably breaks in a completely different manner in each shot (the first almost completely shatters, the second shatters in a different pattern, whilst in the third only one side chips off, leaving the handle and quite a lot of the mug intact). Also when we focus on the wording bottom of the mug later on, it is surprisingly intact given the shattering scenes we previously saw.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Keyser Soze: How you doing Keaton?
Keaton: I can't feel my legs... Keyser.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Sopranos: The Knight in White Satin Armor (#2.12)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

STEPPIN' OUT

A Gang Formed During A Police Lineup

Five hoodlums are hauled into a police station in a dragnet roundup of The Usual Suspects that are brought in for questioning when something big breaks. Good chance any one or all could have been involved. If you remember in the film The Brink's Job, there is a scene where within a day a lot of Boston's known hoodlums are brought in for questioning. The dragnet brought in Stephen Baldwin, Bernicio DelToro, Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, and Kevin Pollak. From this motley crew a gang is born.

Flash forward to several years later when there is a horrific fire on board a freighter where there has been a gun battle with many deaths. Kevin Spacey managed to survive along with two others of the freighter crew and is being questioned in the police station by US Customs Agent Chazz Palmenteri and LA cop Dan Hedaya.

After a couple of other jobs, this crew winds up working for a criminal mastermind from the Balkans who is known as Keyser Sose who is known to be so ruthless that the criminal population itself is scared to death. This guy is spoken of like he was Satan himself and of course the police want him big time also.

I can't say much more because the plotting of The Usual Suspects is so intricate and filled with unexpected twists that to spoil this film would be a crime itself. Some here like Stephen Baldwin give their best performances on screen. Kevin Spacey won his first Oscar, this one in the Best Supporting Actor category. The category has me stumped because it's his character that's the key to the whole film. The other Oscar The Usual Suspects won was for Christopher McQuarrie for one highly original Screenplay.

The Usual Suspects has enough action for those who crave that, especially when we do see the final battle on that freighter and it's also some highly literate dialog for those who appreciate that. It's best compared to that granddaddy of all caper films The Asphalt Jungle, it's that good.