Question: Verbal is presented as a person who has worked with Keaton presumably for some time to have earned his trust. But since Verbal is really Keyser Soze, this would mean that Soze had been "underground" as Verbal for quite awhile establishing his relationship with Keaton. Can we really expect that Soze would have been "playing the part of Verbal" for the length of time, presumably years, he would need to in order to establish a bond of trust with Keaton? And what could have been Soze's original motivation? It couldn't have been that he foresaw this particular situation that he was going to need a criminal of Keaton's caliber to help pull off. The relationship with Keaton would have had to have begun long before Keyser Soze would have known that he needed Keaton to assist in pulling off this particular job. So why establish the relationship with Keaton in the first place?
Tailkinker
19th Jan 2013
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Answer: They were briefly in lockup together months earlier where Kint got a "6 month suspended sentence" as divulged early in the film. Kint does leverage this brief relationship to secure Keaton's spot on the team. But why go to such lengths to secure him? Because he felt the storming of the ship was a 5 man job, and he knew Keaton had several murders along with a storied past in his history that made him a reliable and strong team member.
9th Jul 2011
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Question: It is clear from the last scene that Kobayashi was not a made up character just his name, but what would have happened if McManus had killed him in the building? Surely that was not part of the plan. Also, was it Verbal at the start that killed Keaton? I saw the killer had a gold lighter, which may or may not be connected to the items Verbal later picked up upon leaving the police station. And if it was Verbal, then why didn't Keaton look for an exclamation because wouldn't Verbal have fooled them also with his "act".Did Verbal kill the other usual suspects?
Chosen answer: McManus could have killed "Kobayashi", it's true, but any plan has an element of risk. By bringing in Edie Finneran to consult on the case, they're making it clear to Keaton that any deviation from their wishes will result in her death, relying on his feelings for her to get him to force the others to toe the line. Kobayashi then forces the issue further by revealing what he knows about their families, making it clear that, if they kill him, their loved ones will suffer. While much of the truth behind the film is a little fluid, it does appear that Verbal was indeed Keaton's killer - when he finally sees his attacker's face, Keaton's look of disbelief followed by resigned acceptance would seem to indicate that he's finally figured out what's been happening, that he's been manipulated from the start, but the realisation is too late for him to do anything. As for the other three "suspects", it seems likely from what's shown in the film that Verbal killed Hockney and McManus personally. Who killed Fenster is somewhat less obvious; most likely he was slain by "Kobayashi", or agents working for him, after he tried to run.
One little note: close inspection shows Kevin Spacey behind the gun that kills Keaton.
It not, it's Gabriel Byrne. Dean Keaton.
26th Nov 2008
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Question: Why did Keyser Söze (Verbal Kint) plot to kill/eliminate all the 'Usual Suspects'?
Answer: Each of them has unknowingly crossed him in some manner. So he pulls them together into a group, uses them as pawns to help him eliminate the man who can identify him, then, once that's done, he cleans up the loose ends by taking them out.
Answer: We cannot assume that the suspects crossed Keyser in any way as we cannot assume any of the story is true, therefore it could be because they crossed him or simply because they know his face.
21st Apr 2008
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Question: Plot spoiler. I don't know if this is a plot hole or if it's an error on Söze's part, but wouldn't the story he told the cop pretty much make killing the guy who could identify him irrelevant? Söze wanted him dead because he was the only one willing to identify him. But after the conversation with the police officer the cop would know that Verbal Kint was Kayser Söze. Thus his identity would be out in the open (lots of people seemed to know who Verbal Kint was after all). Did Söze just not think the cop would figure it out, is it a plot hole, or am I missing something?
Answer: Verbal doesn't really care. All he needs to do is keep Kujan occupied until he posts bail, then he's out and away. So he spins his story until he's free to go, putting in enough truths to keep Kujan interested and play up to his theory that Keaton might be Söze, then just walks straight out of the building. Once he's out, he vanishes back into the underground from where he came. Job's done, the only person who could positively identify him is dead. All that remains is a picture that resembles Verbal that might be of Söze, from a terribly-burned witness who might not survive anyway (and Söze would have the resources to eliminate), a sealed testimony that's mostly a lie anyway and a conversation full of falsehoods with a known con artist. None of which would stand up in court as a positive identification, good enough to convict. The police will want to have a word with Verbal, sure, but Söze's got enough experience at vanishing that they'd never find him. Nothing remains to identify and incriminate Söze, which was his aim. The whole affair just joins the increasing list of stories surrounding the quasi-mythical figure of Keyser Söze.
Answer: It didn't matter anyway as they say at the beginning of the movie he was granted full immunity for his testimony so even if they figure out he is Soze they can't prosecute him for any crime as it would be covered by his immunity deal.
Answer: The guy killed on the boat not only knew what Soze looked like but claimed he could expose "all of his operations." That latter fact was much more important from Soze's point of view than knowing his face. The cost of getting rid of the "super-grass" was that the cops now know what he looks like, that's all. Appearances can easily be changed.
Answer: Verbal Kint says himself that in his opinion, Soze will disappear back underground forever. He literally told them what he was going to do.
11th May 2006
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Question: Why was Benicio Del Toro's character killed in the film, what was the point if he was doing the job as well, surely it just makes it harder with less men?
Answer: Fenster was running away, making it entirely clear that he had no intention of going through with the job. As such, he was killed, both as revenge for crossing Soze and to make it clear to his erstwhile cohorts that attempting to flee was not a viable option.
13th Jun 2005
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Question: Is Keaton really as bad as Kujan says? Did he really kill all those people and set up all those deals? He didn't seem so bad to me.
Answer: While mostly accurate, there is one non-applicable element to the Chosen Answer on this one: everything Kujan says about Keaton is not part of Kint's fairy tale, as he is in the real world.
Answer: What we're seeing in the film is a Keaton who's trying to reform, inspired by his relationship with Edie Finneran. Kujan has no particular reason to lie about Keaton's earlier exploits and it certainly seems from what's said in the film that Keaton was a major criminal in his time. True, many of these statements are taken from Verbal's tale, so they cannot be taken as being definitive, but they must contain a reasonable element of truth or Kujan, who is clearly familiar with Keaton's file, would have picked up on it.
9th May 2005
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Question: Sometimes it's difficult to tell which events are real and which aren't. Which events actually happened, and which ones did Verbal make up?
Chosen answer: There's no particularly good way to tell - one good rule of thumb is to consider which events the police would be able to quickly check themselves. So, for example, Verbal's description of the attack on New York's Finest Taxi Service would have been substantially factual, as he wouldn't want to risk contradicting anything that the police might have found out from witnesses. Likewise the deaths of Saul Berg and his bodyguards would be largely correct. The most likely scenario is that large parts of what Verbal says are reasonably close to the truth - by doing that, it would make it easier for him to stick to a consistent story.
Answer: There's a plot hole there though. Verbal basically tells Kujan that it was he who shot Saul. He's basically confessed to murder, which would surely change the situation? Why not just say Keaton shot Saul?
I don't believe this is a plot hole. Kint has a full immunity deal in place before he agrees to say anything. Detective Rabin even tells Agent Kujan that Kint is "protected from on high by the forces of darkness." So Verbal can confess to as many murders as he likes and the police cannot use it against him.
Answer: I believe everything is factual up to the point they go to L.A. Agent Kujon confirms the lineup and taxi service bust.
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Answer: Soze, as is established in the movie, tends to work anonymously or through intermediaries, with the result that, generally speaking, those working for him are unaware of their actual employer. But Soze still needs to keep informed about players and events in the criminal fraternity, so it makes reasonable sense that he would have a number of fake identities that he could use to keep tabs on things directly when necessary. Soze has, as is stated in the movie, encountered Keaton previously in his "Verbal" persona, although Keaton specifically states that they've met "once or twice before", which suggests that they haven't actually worked together. It's not necessary for Soze to have spent years underground masquerading as Kint for this to be the case, just that he use the persona on those occasions when he was in the right area. During those occasions, he encountered Keaton, probably to evaluate him for use in a future operation after Keaton interfered with his earlier smuggling operation.
Tailkinker ★