Roger Ebert , in a review for the '' Chicago Sun-Times , '' gave the film one and a half stars out of four , considering it confusing and uninteresting . He also included the film in his " most hated films " list . '' USA Today '' rated the film two and a half stars out of four , calling it " one of the most densely plotted mysteries in memory — though paradoxically , four-fifths of it is way too easy to predict . " '' Rolling Stone '' praised Spacey , saying his " balls-out brilliant performance is Oscar bait all the way . " In his review for '' The Washington Post '' , Hal Hinson wrote , " Ultimately , '' The Usual Suspects '' may be too clever for its own good . The twist at the end is a corker , but crucial questions remain unanswered . What 's interesting , though , is how little this intrudes on our enjoyment . After the movie you 're still trying to connect the dots and make it all fit — and these days , how often can we say that ? " In her review for '' The New York Times '' , Janet Maslin praised the performances of the cast : " Mr. Singer has assembled a fine ensemble cast of actors who can parry such lines , and whose performances mesh effortlessly despite their exaggerated differences in demeanor ... Without the violence or obvious bravado of '' Reservoir Dogs , '' these performers still create strong and fascinatingly ambiguous characters . " '' The Independent '' praised the film 's ending : " The film 's coup de grace is as elegant as it is unexpected . The whole movie plays back in your mind in perfect clarity — and turns out to be a completely different movie to the one you 've been watching ( rather better , in fact ) . " McQuarrie won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Spacey won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 68th Academy Awards . In his acceptance speech Spacey said , " Well , whoever Keyser Söze is , I can tell you he 's gon na get gloriously drunk tonight . " The film was nominated as the best film at the 1996 British Academy Film Awards ( BAFTA awards ) . McQuarrie won the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay , and John Ottman won the BAFTA Award for Best Editing . The film was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards — Best Supporting Actor for Benicio del Toro , Best Screenplay for Christopher McQuarrie and Best Cinematography for Newton Thomas Sigel . Both Del Toro and McQuarrie won in their categories
68th Academy Awards
68th Academy Awards
The Usual Suspects