The Usual Suspects

Every once in a while a movie comes along that immediately forces its way onto my list of Greats. Memento comes to mind, and Sleuth, (the original, of course, not the horrible remake), and Blood Simple. This is one of them. It is a story of a small gang of criminals and several heists they pull off, as related afterward by the weakest of the gang, Roger “Verbal” Kint, a man with a severe limp, played by Kevin Spacey in an Oscar-winning role. The narrative bounces back and forth and it can be hard to keep up with what’s going on, but that’s okay, as it is all misdirection to keep you from guessing the twist ending, one of the best ever, and totally fair to the viewer. I never saw it coming. And I can’t really say much more without giving too much away, so I will just mention that the supporting cast are all excellent, and Christopher McQuarrie won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.