U is for The Usual Suspects

Fandango

For this year’s A-To-Z Challenge, my theme is MOVIES. I will be working my way through the alphabet during the month of April with movie titles and short blurbs about each movie. Today’s movie is “The Usual Suspects.”

“The Usual Suspects” was a 1995 mystery thriller film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie. It started an ensemble cast of Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwaite, and Kevin Spacey.

The film was first shown at competition at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival and was initially released in a few theaters. After receiving favorable reviews, it was eventually given a wider release. McQuarrie won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Spacey won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. The Writers Guild of America ranked the film as having the 35th greatest screenplay of all time.

Told through the interview of one Verbal Kint (Spacey), a conman with cerebral palsy, The Usual Suspects followed a group of five men who were called by the police to participate in a line-up for the hijacking of a truck. When they were later released, they worked together to pull a heist as revenge on the NYPD. That heist resulted in the men netting millions of dollars in emeralds and getting over fifty cops arrested.

Their criminal antics eventually got them the attention of the infamous Keyser Soze, a mythic crime lord who hired them to pull off a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in the Port of Los Angeles. Most of the group perished, and Verbal Kint, who was one of only two survivors, was interviewed by the FBI. However, it turned out that Verbal Kint was not the man the FBI interviewer thought he was. I can’t say anything more without giving away the movie’s truly stunning climax.

I was captivated by this movie from beginning to end. I think you might be, too.

Previous A2Z 2022 posts: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

28 thoughts on “U is for The Usual Suspects”

  1. newepicauthor April 25, 2022 / 7:00 am

    Keyser Soze instilled fear in everyone and after watching this film a couple of times, I still don’t know if he is real. Nice pick today Fandango.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. eschudel April 25, 2022 / 7:04 am

    I have not seen this one, and while it sounds intriguing, I’m not sure I’m ready to watch a Kevin Spacey movie yet…too bad.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Outside Perception April 25, 2022 / 7:47 am

    This was not my fav movie, but. I haven’t watched it since it released now I’m older and look at things differently. I’ll give it another shot.. weirdly though I know Keyser Soze as a name used as a.. icon similar to Tyler Durden.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango April 25, 2022 / 7:55 am

      I hope you enjoy it more the second time around.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Gr8BigFun April 25, 2022 / 8:09 am

    One of the greatest films of all time and possibly my favorite, certainly in my top five. The question still remains though… who is Kaiser Soze?

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Astrid April 25, 2022 / 11:05 am

    Sounds like a great movie indeed! I at first didn’t fully understand what it was all about, but it sounds quite intriguing.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango April 25, 2022 / 11:07 am

      It is intriguing. Quite twisty and turny.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. JT Twissel April 25, 2022 / 11:35 am

    I saw that film so long ago that I can barely remember it. But I do remember Spacey was quite creepy!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango April 25, 2022 / 2:35 pm

      He was creepy…and really good in that role.

      Like

  9. Nope, Not Pam April 25, 2022 / 1:22 pm

    I heard this was a good movie 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  10. movietheaterpopcast April 25, 2022 / 6:21 pm

    What a classic! This is one of those movies where I was HOOKED from start to finish. That Best Original Screenplay was definitely earned.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango April 25, 2022 / 6:41 pm

      I was the same way. Totally drawn in and engage.

      Like

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  19. leigha66 June 13, 2022 / 11:24 pm

    I have heard about this one, but never really knew much of the story line. Thanks for the info.

    Liked by 1 person

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