Who doesn't love a good crime thriller? I have watched this film so many times and its impact never diminishes. Which is amazing, given that its fame relies on an (absolutely incredible) twist ending.
"Crime thriller" is probably the hardest genre to get right, and certainly seems to produce the most bad films. So when one comes along that is not just great but nigh on perfect, you always find time to include it on your 'best' list.
5 men find themselves in a lineup, each accused of a robbery in what they all agree was a set up, a ruse to get them together. "When do you ever have five known felons in a lineup?" asks one. From there, they decide to work together, but all is not what it seems.....
As well as the twist, the film benefits from an incredible cast, particularly Pete Postlethwaite as a corrupt lawyer and Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Stephen Baldwin and Kevin Pollack as the suspects. But it is Kevin Spacey (controversial now, I know) who gives the Oscar winning performance as Verbal Kint, the con man with a limp and a secret, that makes this film what it is. Phenomenal.
Films are sometimes referred to as layered, that they require more than one viewing in order to understand them fully.
Believe me, with The Usual Suspects, you'll want to go back again and again.
Will it help my English?
American and British English throughout.