The Usual Suspects

Director Bryan Singer
1995
RT score: 89%
My rating: 10/10

Believe it or not I was not terribly popular in high school. This is not a regret so much as a statement of fact and as an unpopular freshman/sophomore I filled my time with watching movies. On an average Friday I would ride my bike to CJ Video, rent 3 movies and return Saturday for 2 or 3 movies. Life was fantastic.
I bring this up because one of my stronger memories of this time spending close to an hour wondering the store looking for any excuse to rent something other than The Usual Suspects. I'm not entirely sure what my prejudice was against the film, I just know that I was extremely reluctant to rent it.
Since that night I have probably watched and re watched The Usual Suspects 50+ times. Initially I was drawn in by the ferocity and grittiness of story. We have a lone survivor, a cripple named Verbal Kint, recounting the details that lead to a shot out on the Harbor. He describes in great detail the six weeks worth of events that lead up to that night. The action he describes is brash, the language is unflinching and the acting is so good across the board that I actually saw 'Fled' because Stephen Baldwin was in it.
As I watched again and again, the film began to evolve. No longer was I watching a great crime drama, but instead, I was watching psychological war fair. The films final sequence which first feels like a reveal of the identity of one Keyser Soze in actuality is a reveal to something more significant than that.
The magnificence of this film isn't the mystery of Keyser Soze, but instead the way the film is able to demonstrate how we can become a victim of our own assumptions and predesigned conclusions. One of the great achievements and subsequent frustrations of the film is the realization that there isn't a single piece of Verbal's story we can trust. While that may detract from the films standing among other films in the crime/gangster genre, it also means the film is able take us into a place few films are willing to go. Kint's interrogator is Dean Keaton and Keaton represents all of us when we allow our assumptions to determine our actions. Kint is able to manipulate Keaton it such a way that not only does Keaton believe every word he says, but he also believes it's his own genius that is pulling the truth out of Kint.
Of course, the only truth that comes out of the film is perhaps it's greatest line, 'the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.' The idea our prejudice can allow us to see through evil even while staring it right in the face is what drives this film. Kint know's the conclusions Keaton wants to draw and is a whiling participant in the matter. Only when it's too late does Keaton realize the mistake he has made and the bewildered look on Keaton's face that closes the film is one of my favorite shots in movie history. Thankfully I gave up my assumption that this film wouldn't be worth my time after an hour of searching for anything else and I have been able to enjoy this film countless times ever since.