ANALYSIS OF THE USUAL SUSPECT

OPENING SEQUENCE OF USUAL SUSPECT: 

The Usual Suspects is a 1995 American Crime thriller film. Following a truck hijack in New York, five conmen are arrested and brought together for questioning. The film follows the interrogation of Roger "Verbal" Kint, a small-time con man who is one of only two survivors of a massacre on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles.

To begin with, Keaton is the character we see the most. We are introduced to him during a business meeting he is in. He is wearing a suit in a fancy restaurant throughout the meeting. Keaton is the longest character on screen during the first scene. This could suggest he is the most dangerous man. He could also be seen as the main culprit or the man with the most power or superior.

However, “Verbal” is another character who seems to be extremely important. The reason for this is because he is also being a narrator; we are listening to his voice in the background during the interrogation and the first scene. Another reason for this is because he is also dressed quite smart and during the line up in the questioning he looks out of place - he doesn’t look like your typical violent criminal. He is also seen with some disabilities.

We are introduced to a character called Mcmanus – a man who is highly rude with a lot of tattoos. During the line up he is wearing a long leather jacket that makes him look like a criminal. He could be interpreted as the most violent or incredibly dangerous. One reason for this is because he we see this when the police break down his door to his 1 bedroom flat and put their guns really close to him. This could highlight that he is well known and a regular with the police department.

Another character we see is Fenster. From the interrogation and the line up, he could be seen as someone who is quite important as he is standing in the middle of the group; he is also wearing a suit and looks smart as if he is the main man with all the authority. Also we can see by the way he is stood during the interrogation and acts, it is as if he isn’t bothered and doesn’t care about being questioned ahead of this crime.

The last character we are introduced to is Hockney.  He can be seen as another vicious and violent character due to the fact that when he is arrested, the police come into a garage he is working in and as he sees them, he reaches under a car and the police rush over to him as they think he is going to pull out a gun. There are a lot of policemen to do this and then he says “Sure you brought enough guys”. This suggests he is violent and they may need more men to stop him.

There is serious and a hint of mysterious music which introduces the first antagonist. After we hear the gun being fired, the music becomes less sinister, which calms down the tone of the film and makes it less dramatic. When Keaton is arrested, the music changes to classy and light music, which is played by the harp. The reason the music is played this is because they are in a smart restaurant and he is in a business meeting. Therefore, it is a lot more formal and shouldn’t be dark or dramatic music.