Alejandra, Jesse, Kevin, RaymondPeriod 5

Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects Directed by Bryan Singeran interrogation of a con man named Verbal Kint, who is one of two survivors of the San Pedro Bay boat explosion

He joins four other men in “jobs”, working as the “man with the plan”

General Overview

Fenster -tall, has a distinct speech pattern, dies first; flat and static

McManus –crazy, talks a lot; flat, staticHockney-has a short temper; flat, staticKeaton-unmotivated, round, dynamicVerbal-protagonist, good actor,

mastermind, round, dynamicAgent Kujan-antagonist, arrogant

investigator, round, dynamic

Major Characters

Agent Baer- an FBI agent who speaks with Kovash

Kovash-the Hungarian survivor of the boat explosion

Kobayashi-the second-hand man of Keyser Soze

Redfoot-the drug dealer who gives the five men a job

Edie-Keaton’s girlfriend and lawyer

Minor Characters

The events in the film are arranged in a specific way

The scenes alternate between past and present, showing their relationships

Spatial:

Temporal Relationship

Relationship between Keaton and EdieAgent Baer’s part of the investigationVerbal’s friendship with KeatonSubtext: We feel the characters don’t

openly discuss trust, but we know that they have trust at the end, because they are surprised that Verbal betrayed them.

Subplot/Subtext

Diegesis: Music, Text onscreenChronological in some aspectKey MomentsClimax: 1. Boat scene in Verbal’s flashback2. Kujan’s conclusion Dramatic Irony Pace: fast

Story/Plot/ Narrative

The camera pans over left to right over the ocean, with the moon shining down. The title and the credits appears with white text on the right side one by one. By doing this, the directors create ambiance and subtlety, leading up to the boat scene.

Title and Opening

There are two points of views:Verbal’s point of view (Restricted):He tells Agent Kujan his story

leading up to the boat scene.Objective point of view (Unrestricted):Everything outside of the story.We know more than the characters

about the plot, but we are limited to what Verbal tells us.

Point of View

Keaton lays on crates, trying to start a fire.However, a mysterious figure puts out the

fire and shoots him.

Later, we know that this man is Keyser Soze,

This scene sets up the movie, which then shows us the events that leads to this scene.

Boat Scene

Kovash first mentions Keyser Soze

Hospital Scene

21:03

Bulletin Board

Beans from Guatemala

“Back when I was picking beans in Guatemala, we used to make fresh coffee. Right off the trees, I mean.”

Guatemala

25:42

Verbal looks under coffee cup.sees the name Kobayashi

Kobayashi

Kobayashi

25:55

After the Lineup

True

Heist#1

Skokie, Illinois

“You know, back when I was in that Barbershop Quartet in Skokie, Illinois…”

Barbershop Quartet

42:03

Fake nameTrue event

“Redfoot”

Kobayashi is a real person

Event is true.

Meeting with Kobayashi

During the meeting, Fenster talksabout Bricks Marlin, whom he did jobs for.

Bricks Marlin

Refusing the Offer

FalseKeaton shoots himself?

Kujan’s Conclusion

Verbal Kint = Keyser Soze

Fax of Keyser Soze

Cigarette-repeated in every heist and scheme

Watch-shown in the first scene when Keaton asks for the time and at the end when Verbal picks up his things, which include a gold watch.

Music- a certain music when Keyser appears

Dialogue – the conversations between Verbal and Kujan“I am not a rat.”“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled

was convincing the world he doesn’t exist.”

Motifs

The movie shows the scene where Keaton is shot by Keyser Soze several times.

Each scene shows us something slightly different. Up to the end, we are mislead to a conclusion, but in the end, we realize which scenes are fake.

Parallelism

Emotional: feeling of betrayal; trustExplicit: One shouldn’t trust a

criminal, especially one that’s smartImplicit: One shouldn’t be too

confident or arrogant.Referential: Some people can be

sneaky, cruel, and merciless like the Devil.

Symptomatic: People are fearful of the Devil and uncertainty.

Meaning

Keyser Soze is like the Devil, the common fear that many people have towards death.

The cigarettes and fire are metonyms, representing deceit and schemes. They ignite the trail of oil leading to the big bang.

Symbolism

Life is full of surprises and deception

1. The five guys don’t know why they were in the line-up

2. Kobayashi appears to the five guys claiming to work for Keyser Soze

3. Agent Kujan looks at the bulletin board.

Theme/Tropes

The film tries to show us the dark and deceptive side of human nature.

A person with a strong will can manipulate others into what that person wants them to believe.

Verbal tricks Kujan, making him believe that Verbal is weak.

Message

Unified Plot – Subplots tie into main plot.Credible/Plausible – Usual Suspects has verisimilitude, a believable story.

Internal Truths–The characters are believableArtistic Semblance or Truth–Although the story is fiction, the setting is realistic.

InterestingSimple in plot; complex in review.Fear and evilness is not exaggerated.

Good Story? Yes.