"The Usual Suspects," directed by Bryan Singer, is a riveting neo-noir mystery film noted for its ingenious plot twists and masterful storytelling. The narrative revolves around a convoluted web of deception, crime, and the intriguing myth of an almost supernatural criminal figure, Keyser Söze.
The story is primarily narrated in a flashback by Roger 'Verbal' Kint (Kevin Spacey), a small-time con man with cerebral palsy, who is one of the two survivors of a massacre and subsequent fire on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles. He is interrogated by Customs Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri), who is trying to piece together the events leading up to the incident.
Verbal's story begins six weeks earlier in New York City when five criminals, including himself, are arrested for a truck hijacking: Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), a corrupt former police officer turned criminal; Michael McManus (Stephen Baldwin), a professional thief; Fred Fenster (Benicio del Toro), McManus's partner; and Todd Hockney (Kevin Pollak), a hijacker. They are all brought together by coincidence (or so it seems) and decide to carry out a revenge heist against the police who wronged them.
The plot thickens when the group is approached by a lawyer named Kobayashi (Pete Postlethwaite) who claims to work for the mythical crime lord Keyser Söze. They are blackmailed into attacking a ship believed to carry a large drug shipment belonging to Söze's rivals.
As Verbal's tale unfolds, it becomes clear that everything has been orchestrated by the mysterious Söze. The ship was a decoy, and the real motive was to eliminate a man who could identify Söze. As the team members perish in the operation, only Verbal and a severely burnt Hungarian mobster survive.
The film culminates in a legendary twist. After Verbal's release, Kujan realizes that Verbal has been fabricating his story using details from the bulletin board in the interrogation room, and that Verbal Kint is, in fact, the elusive Keyser Söze. However, it's too late, as Verbal has already disappeared, leaving Kujan and the audience stunned.
"The Usual Suspects" is a masterclass in storytelling, leaving viewers questioning the nature of truth and illusion, demonstrating the power of narrative manipulation, and how easily a story well told can mask the greatest deceptions.