The Usual Suspects.

* SPOILERS*

Yeah, watched the movie twice in as many days. Every time I watch the movie I end up getting more flummoxed. For the uninitiated, this 1995 blockbuster provided ‘inspiration’ to Vivek Agnihotri’s Chocolate. Director Bryan Singer himself confesses that there may be more than one interpretation and the audience is encouraged to form their own opinions. I have formed a few opinions about how the movie actually unfolds. All of them are most likely to be erroneous. Through this post, I want to know what fellow viewers think of the plot. Here are a few conjectures:

1.

There is No Keyser Soze. No Soze. Soze is all fiction.

Spacey and his gang of cronies are wrongly captured. The lineup is not influenced by Kint and he is just another “Usual Suspect”. From that point, these five simple con-men decide to loot a boat. They land on the boat (even Fenster, i may add) and are successful in their plan and walk away with the heist. Kint, unable to escape is caught by the police. He sells Kujan a story which is a complete farce. There is no Redfoot, no Kobayashi. Perhaps they never even went to Los Angeles. Everything is a farce. The other suspects are waiting for Kint’s departure and all are alive and well. Y is also a usual suspect who escorts Kint to his fellow con-men. [For Y see 3.]

Again a few drawbacks:

If Soze was another one of Kint’s creations, how did the Hungarian survivor shout about Soze?

Why did Kint fake a limp in the first place?

Who killed Edie Finneran?

The Edie Finneran killing is the clincher. Can’t think this story works.

2.

Lets assume that there is a mystery man named Keyser Soze whose horror stories are pretty widespread. Kint, again is just an “usual suspect”. (I find it hard to digest that Kint could actually be Soze because it belies the very title of the film) The five protagonists find themselves in a police lineup, they make a plan to wreck a boat parked in the harbour. There is a killing spree and Kint is seen killing a lot of men with ruthless efficiency. All the men on the boat are wary of the legend of Keyser Soze and they mistake Kint for Soze. Kint fails to escape and then weaves a story around Soze. Again the entire Redfoot, Kobayashi, Fenster’s killing might be all farce. Because everyone is shouting about Soze on the deck, the Hungarian survivor also thinks of Kint as Soze and hence the photographic description. 91 million dollars have gone AWOL . And they are safe and sound with the other suspects. Y is also a usual suspect who escorts Kint to his fellow con-men. [For Y see 3.]

Again this theory fails to answer: Who killed Edie? Was Edie not what Kint portrayed her to be? Was Keaton just playing around with her and then bumped her off after the heist went good ?

3.

This one is a no-brainer. Let us assume all what we are shown is true. Keyser is Kint. Kint is Keyser. Kint has tremendous influence over the cops and engineers the lineup. In an attempt to understand the suspects better, Kint becomes a part of their lives. Mcmanus actually has an acquaintance in LA whose name is X. They blow up the Taxi Sevice for X. While narration, Kint fakes X’s name as Redfoot. Only the name is made up. (Its actually ironic that there is no factual confirmation that a Taxi was blown up by some unidentified men. Kint says that a Taxi was blown up. We are led to believe so. Kujan doesn’t confirm this fact.) The man who drives Kint away at the end is Y.Y and Keyser are close associates. Y actually approaches them and orders them to sabotage the deal on the ship. Kobayashi is just another piece of creation from the Kint factory and Kint fakes Y’s name as Kobayashi. All that occurs on the ship is true. Kint transforms into Soze as he reaches the dock. He kills the only person who could have identified him. He kills the suspects too. But where’s the money gone? Was Y also present on the ship? Show me the money !!

Why did Kint kill the suspects? I have a acceptable answer for this. In the pool room, Y nonchalantly states that each suspect had once stolen from Keyser without his knowledge. Was it revenge that led to the suspects’ deaths? This story makes some sense though. If Kint was Soze , he succeeded in all his tasks :

a. By preventing the deal, he crippled the Argentinian economy and paved way for his clear future in the powders business.

b. He killed the only guy who could identify him.

c. He killed the suspects who had once stolen from him.

d. He proved that he was cleverer than Kujan !

But again, the missing booty is the one loose end in this story.

Anywhichways , the movie is indeed a treat to watch. Chocolate was simplified for better understanding. I thought of Chocolate as a very refreshing movie. Only to realize now that is a rip-off of the Suspects !

“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing man he didn’t exist”.

“Ah ! And like that, he’s gone! ”

For all you know , I might have never watched the movie in the first place .

It seems that he's written something new. Aha ! :P

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