“I always forget this is directed by Bryan Singer. Whenever I hear the name, my first association is X-Men. Given that he also did Apt Pupil and Superman Returns, I really need to remember him as a favorite director.
Where do I begin to describe the brilliance of this film? The plot perhaps, with all of its twists and turns, and one of the biggest pull-the-rug-out-from-under-ya endings ever (although most people are spoiled for it by now). Or maybe the fantastic cast, starting with Kevin Spacey in an incredibly worthy academy ward winning performance. There’s the fun characters, my favorite being a toss up between Benicio Del Toro’s unintelligible Fenster or Stephen Baldwin’s crazy McManus.
I highly recommend checking out the IMDB trivia for this one. There’s some good stuff about what scenes were improv-ed, and where inspiration came from for various things, and all of the hidden clues as to the identity of Keyser Soze. I especially love how my favorite scene (the voice lineup) wasn’t even intended to be comedic, they just weren’t able to film a serious take. I think that the way it ended up in the film really sets a fantastic tone for the rest of the film. Actually my favorite bit of trivia is about how one of the actors was falsely convinced that he was Keyser Soze until watching the film at the premier.
Before putting the film on, I was a bit concerned whether or not I really should have included this film. Then while warming up my snack, the BluRay menu was playing the score and all the awe and amazement I feel towards this movie came rushing up. Not the first film on the list that’s happened with.
Aww, Pete Postlethwaite. I think this is the first movie of his I see after his recent death. Sad that it wasnt until he died that I learned his name. I always referred to him in my head as Father Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet. But I was always happy to see him in a film. He was rather fantastic. He’ll be showing up a couple more times on the list.
To be honest, I really dont know much of what happens in the middle of the film. I love love love the beginning, and the end always absorbs me. I dont know if it gets too complicated or if its sensory overload by that point or what but I typically end up falling asleep or tuning out. No flashes of screen are unfamiliar when I do watch thru the middle, but I couldnt possibly explain anything that happens there (and not because of the twistiness of the screenplay)
Cue awkward blog post ending”