Final Essay

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The Usual Suspect

Question 1:

Cujan's rage and smugness are frequently disguised by a made-up "good cop," which can influence Verbal into talking about his story that he further manipulates so it fits into his own scheme with Keaton. Further, Cajun has a superiority complex as well that can be used against him. These are certain mental blocks which give an edge to Keyser. Cajun was fixed on the other guy because of being smug and overconfident in what he believed. His smugness also let him look pass Kint (McQuarrie et al.).

Question 2:

Agent Cajun thinks that Kint is weak and is not capable of anything. He is constantly belittling him telling him that he is not capable of anything which is far from the truth. He also thinks of Kint as someone who is the victim which is far from the truth. Kint’s facade of being a shaky victim is also making Cajun believe the fact that he is stupid and weak. He is trying to portray himself as the bad guy to get him to talk. Agent Cajun also thinks that Kint is a cripple and it is only a matter of time that he will start to speak (Telotte, 12).

Question 3:

The beginning and the ending of the film is the same in the way that Cujan and Kint are observing the same cluttered bulletin board and thinking about something quite seriously. Apart from the apparent similarity, there is a great difference between the observations of the two characters. The scenes are juxtaposed in the way that Cujan was observing the billboard to find any clue of reaching the suspects, while Kint was only observing it to weave a story which can prove his innocence to the police. The difference in the facial expressions of each man observing the bulletin board capture the essence of the definition of observation in the way that Cujan is seeing it in deep thought while being aware. O the other hand, the observation of Kint is quite meek is he is just joining the puzzles of confirmation from it to get away from the investigators (Elsaesser, 27).

Question 4:

Both of the men, Cujan and Kint, learned valuable lessons from the bulletin board. Kint learned how he can construct a fake but convincing story, utilizing the information from the board to deceive the investigator. On the other hand, Cujan learned about the details of the criminals, their movements and their criminal record from the bulletin board, which helped him to identify the place of crime as well as point out the major criminals. Both of the characters learned how they can use the information from the bulletin board for their own benefit and for the sake of getting their purpose fulfilled.

Question 5:

Cajun mostly believes in making things happens by portraying himself as the bad cop. He typically belittles the criminals or suspects that he is dealing with. The reflection can be seen when he is dealing with Kint, Cajun tells him that he is weak and should probably confess as he is capable of nothing. On the other hand, Agent Baer from the FBI is quite strategic, when he interviewed Arkosh Kovash, the burned Hungarian who survived the boat annihilation. Baer functioned as someone who is an important tool, he was the one who found out about Keyser Soze from Arkosh by his strategic tactics (Landy, 43).

Question 6:

The director of the film Bryan Singer has used several props and effects to narrate the story and the most important out of them is the use of light. The director has used blatant, as well as subtle light at different points in the film which is greatly significant. One of the most important points which highlight the significance of light shining on the faces is theta the director is trying to show if the character is feeling nervous or confident about his venture. The light shed on the faces of the criminals is mostly blatant which is a mean of portraying that the criminals are being forced or made nervous due to the investigation of the officers. On the other hand, the purpose of the use of subtle light is to depict that the criminal or even the officer is leading the other person towards his desired direction of pursuing the story (Blakesley, 238).

Question 7:

Apart from the full moon and cigarette lighter, the director of the film Bryan Singer has used some other effects as well to help narrate the story. The other effects include the gun as well as the walk of the gunman. The director has tried to highlight some of the major identifications of the criminal who is being sought by the police and FBI. The walk is a prominent effect because of the fact that the director wants the audience to compare his style and gait with that of the suspects and indulge in the effort of identifying him and uncovering his truth. The gun is a special effect in the way that it provides the insight to the viewers that the criminal is able to use it in any way he desires without being concerned or feeling empathy with anyone. The effects have provided the opportunity to the director to lead the audience towards making their own guess about the criminal (Singer et al.).

Works Cited

Blakesley, David. "Sophistry, magic, and the vilifying rhetoric of The Usual Suspects." The Terministic Screen: Rhetorical Perspectives on Film (2003): 234-245.

Elsaesser, Thomas. "The mind-game film." Puzzle films: Complex storytelling in contemporary cinema (2009): 13-41.

Landy, Joshua. "The Devil, the Master-Criminal, and the Re-enchantment of the World (On The Usual Suspects)." Philosophy and literature 36.1 (2012): 37-57.

McQuarrie, Christopher, et al. The Usual Suspects. London: Faber & Faber, 1996.

Singer, Bryan, et al. The Usual suspects. USA/Germany: MGM Home Entertainment, 1995.

Telotte, J. P. "Rounding Up The Usual Suspects: The Comforts of Character and Neo-Noir." Film Quarterly (ARCHIVE) 51.4 (1998): 12.