The Usual Suspects — everyone has a story

Spoiler-free review.

The Usual Suspects throws a lot of names and information at you, but it also gives you people who are fun to listen to. That matters. A complicated crime story gets tiring quickly if its characters only exist to deliver the next clue.

Christopher McQuarrie’s dialogue gives the group plenty of swagger. They interrupt, needle each other, and make confidence sound like a professional skill. Even when a conversation is doing heavy work for the plot, there is usually enough personality in it to keep it moving.

Bryan Singer keeps the storytelling restless, moving between an interrogation and the events being described. The question of how a story gets told becomes as interesting as what supposedly happened. I liked having to decide which details deserved my attention, rather than having every important moment underlined.

There are places where the film seems a little pleased with its own cleverness. Keeping track of the names can also take more effort than getting invested in the people behind them. Still, the performances and the dry humour keep it from becoming just an exercise in plotting.

8/10. Tightly put together, entertaining, and especially good when it lets a conversation become a contest. Go in knowing as little as possible.

Directed by Bryan Singer · 1995 · English. Film details: BFI. Poster artwork © its respective rights holders.

— Desly