The Usual Suspects: Props and the Anti-Hero Performance

The Usual Suspects

Props play an essential role in many neo-noir films, not only serving to set the contemplative mood, and reinforce themes of mystery, but to indicate certain nuances and intricacies of character to the audience. The use of props combined with the performance of the anti-hero in Bryan Singer's 1995 film, The Usual Suspects, help to "bring a character to life and communicate important dimensions of that character to the audience." The Usual Suspects follows the story of Verbal Kint,  a cripple and the sole survivor of an ensemble of criminals forced to stop a drug deal on the orders of the mythical Keyser Soze, who seeks to capitalise the drug market. In the typical neo-noir style, the film is characterised by chiaroscuro, urban settings, unreliable narrators, and convoluted plotlines, though it is the combination of props and performance that most efficiently help define it as a deceitful and power-orientated neo-noir crime film.

Fig.1

Corrigan and White note that props can be used to express "characters thoughts and feelings, their powers and abilities in the world, or the primary themes of the film." In The Usual Suspects, props, such as the cigarette and its smoke, is an instrumental prop, used "according to its common function" but that also expresses common neo-noir themes such as power, mystery and nihilism. (Fig.1)

Fig.2

From the opening sequence in which a smoking cigarette is used to start a fire which leads to the an explosion (fig.2), to a cigarette being thrown by Redfoot into the face of McManus (fig.3) and the final shot of the film when Verbal Kint lights a cigarette and calmly drives away from prosecution (fig.4),  the symbolism of the cigarette permeates almost every scene, as an indicator of power, as he who holds the cigarette is he who is in control. The contextualised prop of the cigarette also furthers character development, in common noir films the cigarette is used to shroud the smoker in fumes of mystery and deceit, it is the same in The Usual Suspects, Verbal Kint is often seen smoking, this indicates to the audience that his version of the truth he narrates is not necessarily to be trusted.

Fig.3

Fig.4

The use of the cigarette prop as a symbol of power combined with the stylised performance of Kevin Spacey as Verbal Kint as an anti-hero, creates a juxtaposing image. Here is a character, who the audience is supposed to identify and sympathise with due to his disability and vulnerability, wielding the prop that indicates power and control. (Fig.6). This indicates again to the audience that the character is not all he seems, and makes the revelation of Verbal Kint being Keyser Soze (the most dangerous and feared character in the film) all the more shocking due to the clues given but missed by the audience. In this scene for instance (Begin 1:18-1:49) take note of the combination of the two aspects of the films form, Spacey's sympathy-inducing performance, made up of a severe limp, hunched gait, gump hand and innocent facial expressions and the prop of the cigarette.

Verbal interrupts Agent Kujan multiple times, first to ask for a cigarette, then as he drops it, and then as Kujan lights it for him. A clear struggle for power here is established by the prop of the cigarette, aided by Spacey's performance, with Verbal ending up the ultimate 'winner' as he gains power over the Agent interrupting his speech and distracting him from his hard-boiled detective routine.  This foreshadows the final scene of the film, in which the audience sees the cigarette again, this time lit easily by Kint himself, as Agent Kujan desperately searches for him, realising his tragic mistake and 'losing' again. (Begin at 4:05).

References

Corrigan, Tim and Patricia White. The Film Experience: An Introduction. Boston: St Martins, 2012. Print.

The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, 1995. Film.