The Usual Suspects

A closer look at the story

The Usual Suspects begins in the aftermath of a boat explosion in San Pedro harbour. Many people have died in the blast, and a large haul of drug money has been found at the scene. One of the very few who lived through it is a man called Verbal Kint. Sitting across from federal agents in a Los Angeles interrogation room, Verbal starts recounting events from weeks earlier. What he wants the agents to believe is remarkable: that Keyser Söze, a crime lord most people consider a myth, is real, and that he is the one who pulled Verbal and four other partners into a heist worth millions that ended with the explosion at the harbour. Bit by bit, Verbal draws his interrogators in with an astonishing account of this shadowy figure's almost supernatural reach. Bryan Singer directed this 106-minute crime thriller from 1995, written by Christopher McQuarrie. Kevin Spacey plays Verbal and Gabriel Byrne plays Keaton, with Stephen Baldwin, Benicio del Toro and Kevin Pollak also in the cast.