The Usual Suspects Analysis

In this analysis I will be looking at the 1995 film, The Usual Suspects. This highly rated picture is a Crime/Mystery thriller, full of twists and turns sure to get you chilled to the bone. Starring Stephen Baldwin, its has an average film rating of 8.7, putting it in the top 500 films of all time. I will be looking at the opening of the film, from the entire extract provided at the bottom of the post. I shall be specifically looking at four micro-elements; mise en scene, camerawork, editing and sound. In each point I will be referring to pictures found toward the bottom of the article.

 The scene begins in a very dark and aery location. Although we can see very little in the shot, we hear and notice a man, lighting matches in order to light his cigarette (Picture 1). This seems to be the only source of light in the picture, but is enough to get an idea of what the man looks like. The scene does not give much away and leaves an enigma of unanswered questions despite being at the very beginning of the opening. As the camera slightly pulls out, we see seemingly uncontrolled flames in the background, creating a sense of danger.

Following on from the first few seconds, the man then throws his flaming matches on the floor beside him, which to our surprise ignites a rope. The camera then tracks the path of the rope, and we watch the flames progress in its journey (Picture 2). Throughout this and the previous scene, a non-diegetic and dramatic violin soundtrack is played in the background, creating a gloomy setting for the already dark location.

As we continue to watch the rope set alight, the flames illuminate a clear image of a dead, lifeless body in the background (Picture 3). This is of obvious significance, and raises yet more questions. Who is he? Why was he killed? Who killed him? At this point, we can only presume the man who had just lit his cigarette is the killer, but in fact, we later find this is not the case. The inclusion of this shot is a clever one, as it builds up to the situation in hand. Its a little hint of the story line.

We then get a close-up shot of the still progressing flames (Picture 4). as they creep towards the camera, a clear liquid is poured over the rope from above and the diegetic sound of it splattering onto the ground below, in order to douse the raging flames and stop them in their path. The camera then pans upward to show the silhouette pouring the liquid from the raised balcony. Instantly his higher position shows his dominance and power over the man below. The man on the balcony of which we know nothing about, is cast in a very mysterious way,which gives the viewer the impression that he is in fact the villain in this scene.

We then cut back to the man previously seen at the start of the opening, who is now looking weak and tired, hanging his head whilst watching his attempt at killing himself intercepted and quite literally, fizzle out (Picture 5). Contrary to the viewers previous thoughts, the man pictured from the very start of the scene seems to have very little or no power at all in this situation. As the mysterious man walks down the series of steps to approach the man below, the weak man asks "What's the time?" Of which the mysterious man replies "12:30", and soon after, "Are you ready?". The man looks up to the mysterious one, eventuates the division in power. Through a close up of the helpless mans face shows, he seems to have little hope left and knows his fate will be the same as the dead man seen earlier on.

In the next shot, the man of which we still know nothing about, pulls out his pistol and points it at the vulnerable and injured man (Picture 6). This proves the man fears were right, and proves who killed the dead man seen in the previous scene. The mysterious man is confirmed as the villain, as we wait to hear the loud bang of the gun being fired. As this happens, we cut to an establishing shot of the outside of the boat they are in, and a montage like series of cuts give us an idea of the scenery around the location. We see very little aftermath of the gun shot. Its also relevant to point out we have yet to, and don't see the villains face, and know almost nothing about him other than that he is a ruthless killer.

As we return inside the boat, immediately after the drama has taken place, a close-up of the murderous protagonists hand, dropping his lit cigarette to re-light the fire he earlier put out (Picture 7). The reflective shine already on the floor suggests that some kind of lighting fuel has been used to encourage the fires spread. This ignition causes the rope to once again light.

Once again the camera follows the fire as it progresses down the rope (Picture 8). We experience some kind of Da Ja Vu, as the scene seemingly replays the earlier one, as the flames illuminate the newly dead body, only this time it is the victim seen throughout the first half of the opening. From this we get a sense that there are more victims to the crazy murderer, yet we still do not know why he has killed these people. This nagging question remains unanswered throughout the opening scene.

The opening concludes with a mighty explosion, as the flaming rope reaches its explosive target (Picture 9). This only adds to the deadly mayhem and confusion as to whats going on. This is what makes the opening successful, as the only way to answer these questions is to continue watching the movie. This is what the opening aims to do, and can be the key to a successful film.

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