The Usual Suspects

For this blog, I watched The Usual Suspects, a very unusual and edgy film that came out in 1995.(This post will contain spoilers.)

The movie focuses on five criminals who were all brought in as suspects in a drug and murder case. They were all cleared, but while waiting in the holding cell, they decided to work together to pull of heists in order to get revenge on the police. They start with the "taxi cab" system, which actually is just corrupt cops doing what they can for extra money, but then they start getting more work. Keyser Soze, a legendary conman who terrifies even the baddest of criminals, makes his presence known to the group, and this pressures them into high stake situations that ends in some getting killed. After a massive boat explosion that killed many and had the possibility of drug carrying, the only survivor of the group, Verbal Kint, is brought in for questioning. In the end, it is revealed that Kind was actually Soze all along, and orchestrated the whole thing.

Now time for my thoughts:

Maybe I've read too many books or watched too many films, but this story was just so predictable to me! As soon as I was able to get past the super annoying non-linear story line, I was able to figure it out. Kint's crippled leg and arm were too obvious, and the way he acted in the police station totally tipped me off. I did like how the "big secret" was revealed, but since I was expecting it, I think most of the big ending was lost on me.

Let's talk about that non-linear storytelling. Although I hated it, it did give another layer to the story. I just found it annoying that for the first about half hour of the movie, I was unable to comprehend what was happening at what time. It served as a major distraction from the plot; I feel like I never fully got used to the switching back and forth. Like I've mentioned, I have read a lot of books. It is not uncommon to see non-linear storytelling in novels, but I think that medium allows for it do be done better and clearer.

I do think that the way this story was told added to its suspense and obscurity. The narrator was unreliable, and the story line was, too. The layering in the story definitely left me disoriented and suspicious of everyone and everything, so maybe this was a success of the film. Just because I figured it out, does not mean that everyone did.

I think the film still would have been enjoyable even if it were told in chronological order. I think this  absolutely would have made me care about the characters more. This was actually one of my biggest annoyances with the movie: the fact that I could not remember every characters name. If the earlier part of the plot, the sequence of the con-men meeting and finishing those jobs, would have been more fleshed out, maybe I would have felt more affected by their deaths and by the ending. The jumping back and forth kept me distanced from the story, so I think keeping it linear would have actually immersed me more.

I didn't absolutely hate the film, I just think it was predictable and hard to get into. I wanted characters to care about, and a story that would blow me out of my seat. I didn't get either of those things with this movie. Therefore I give the movie a C. It wasn't terrible, it just wasn't a complete success in my opinion.