Post by Pulpmariachi on Mar 31, 2006 21:52:22 GMT -5
SPOILERS ARE PROBABLY PRESENT
Okay...there's a major spoiler here, one that the whole movie revolves around and it's really difficult not to mention that certain scene because so much of the brilliance of the revealation is wonderfully and subtly foreshadowed behind everything else.
"The Usual Suspects" tells the story of five cons who are gathered together at a police lineup after the hijacking of a truck loaded down with weapons. While in holding (all of them angry of course, believing to be held by wrongful cause--especially Keaton, who has turned legit supposedly. This is important, don't ignore it) the guys decide that they'll get together and pull off a job.
It takes some coaxing and begging of Keaten but they take the job and succeed. Afterwards they meet their contact guy who gives them a new job, which they also succeed at though it doesn't go smoothly at all. Angry, they're planning on opening up a hell-storm on everyone but they're stopped by a lawyer named Kobyashi, who works for criminal mastermind Keyser Soze. Keyser Soze is the epitome of notorious, the Devil himself. Lines are thrown around suggesting even God Almighty fears Keyser Soze. But then, there's dispute about whether or not Soze exists.
And that's all I can say because everything else twists and turns in this mystery about what's happening. I remember the first time I watched I was glued into my seat, watching the film on a 7" portable DVD player. And each subsequent time I've watched it, it's very difficult to turn away.
I guess it would do to mention the honors that the movie recieved and well-deserved. The entire film lies on Kevin Spacey's shoulders and he delivers magnificantly. He was great, but so was everyone else, who lead us through our confusion with equal confusion of their own. Benicio Del Toro is of course infamous for his whacked-out-extremely flamboyant crook who'll flip you for good. Gabriel Byrne also keeps everything going as the figure that everyone looks to and is obviously the most intelligent of the group (or is he?). And who can forgot pre-born-again-Christian Stephen Baldwin?
On top of the actors, the script is so tight and well put-together and under Bryan Singer's masterful direction...well...it's not disappointing (to most, people like Roger Ebert hated it but sometimes I think Roger Ebert needs a good punch in the face).
The film is told in a story-within-a-story kind of mode (there's a real literary strategy word for it, but I can't remember it now and can't find it in my notes--and me an English major!), so there is no knowing what really happened. It's all up to interpretation. And it all leads to the ending.
Singer lies down his mystery, his web of confusion and characters and situations so you don't quite know what's the truth, what's the lie, and what's in-between. He makes you guess and wonder until the last two minutes, where I for one jumped out of my chair screaming, "DEAR HOLY GOD! THAT'S F---ING GENIUS!" I got scolded for declaring this at my grandparents' house in New Mexico, but it was worth it. I mean, "Fight Club" and "The Sixth Sense" have NOTHING on the ending of this film. They can't hold a candle to it, to how shocking and crazy it is that it totally messes with your mind (and it makes sense, unlike David Lynch films which tend to rape your brain). Then you can go back and rewatch the film and catch the brilliant subtlties that you may have and probably missed the first time.
The film is treated as a noir and is a far cry from the Quentin Tarantino indie-fare that the press was digging around '95. It's an intelligent film above all, filled with brilliance of its own and plenty of noir and Humphry Bogart references, as well as an stretchy reference to "The Wizard of Oz" (according to Singer).
It is absolutely brilliant and well-worth devoting one hour and forty-some minutes to it. If you haven't already. And if you have...then see it again.
A
Okay...there's a major spoiler here, one that the whole movie revolves around and it's really difficult not to mention that certain scene because so much of the brilliance of the revealation is wonderfully and subtly foreshadowed behind everything else.
"The Usual Suspects" tells the story of five cons who are gathered together at a police lineup after the hijacking of a truck loaded down with weapons. While in holding (all of them angry of course, believing to be held by wrongful cause--especially Keaton, who has turned legit supposedly. This is important, don't ignore it) the guys decide that they'll get together and pull off a job.
It takes some coaxing and begging of Keaten but they take the job and succeed. Afterwards they meet their contact guy who gives them a new job, which they also succeed at though it doesn't go smoothly at all. Angry, they're planning on opening up a hell-storm on everyone but they're stopped by a lawyer named Kobyashi, who works for criminal mastermind Keyser Soze. Keyser Soze is the epitome of notorious, the Devil himself. Lines are thrown around suggesting even God Almighty fears Keyser Soze. But then, there's dispute about whether or not Soze exists.
And that's all I can say because everything else twists and turns in this mystery about what's happening. I remember the first time I watched I was glued into my seat, watching the film on a 7" portable DVD player. And each subsequent time I've watched it, it's very difficult to turn away.
I guess it would do to mention the honors that the movie recieved and well-deserved. The entire film lies on Kevin Spacey's shoulders and he delivers magnificantly. He was great, but so was everyone else, who lead us through our confusion with equal confusion of their own. Benicio Del Toro is of course infamous for his whacked-out-extremely flamboyant crook who'll flip you for good. Gabriel Byrne also keeps everything going as the figure that everyone looks to and is obviously the most intelligent of the group (or is he?). And who can forgot pre-born-again-Christian Stephen Baldwin?
On top of the actors, the script is so tight and well put-together and under Bryan Singer's masterful direction...well...it's not disappointing (to most, people like Roger Ebert hated it but sometimes I think Roger Ebert needs a good punch in the face).
The film is told in a story-within-a-story kind of mode (there's a real literary strategy word for it, but I can't remember it now and can't find it in my notes--and me an English major!), so there is no knowing what really happened. It's all up to interpretation. And it all leads to the ending.
Singer lies down his mystery, his web of confusion and characters and situations so you don't quite know what's the truth, what's the lie, and what's in-between. He makes you guess and wonder until the last two minutes, where I for one jumped out of my chair screaming, "DEAR HOLY GOD! THAT'S F---ING GENIUS!" I got scolded for declaring this at my grandparents' house in New Mexico, but it was worth it. I mean, "Fight Club" and "The Sixth Sense" have NOTHING on the ending of this film. They can't hold a candle to it, to how shocking and crazy it is that it totally messes with your mind (and it makes sense, unlike David Lynch films which tend to rape your brain). Then you can go back and rewatch the film and catch the brilliant subtlties that you may have and probably missed the first time.
The film is treated as a noir and is a far cry from the Quentin Tarantino indie-fare that the press was digging around '95. It's an intelligent film above all, filled with brilliance of its own and plenty of noir and Humphry Bogart references, as well as an stretchy reference to "The Wizard of Oz" (according to Singer).
It is absolutely brilliant and well-worth devoting one hour and forty-some minutes to it. If you haven't already. And if you have...then see it again.
A
