History Fridge / TheUsualSuspects

** Before Verbal talks about Kobayashi, there's a shot of Verbal looking up at Kujan just as Kujan is taking a drink from his coffee mug, giving Verbal a clear view of the "Kobayashi" insignia on the bottom of the mug.
** Verbal tells how Söze, confronted by a brutal rival gang, "showed those men of will what will really is" by shooting his own hostage-taken family and then the men themselves. Just a few scenes later we see him shoot the guy in the car that Keaton keeps threatening but never actually pulls the trigger.
** When Verbal collects his things before walking out of the station, he collects a gold watch and gold lighter. Both are seen at the beginning of the movie when Keaton asks for the time.
** Verbal's arrest is the only one not shown despite the fact that it is Verbal who is telling the story. The reason is most likely because the details of his arrest wouldn't match the character he's presenting to Kujan.

* There's also the tip off that Hockney was the one who did the hijacking in Queens that resulted in the line-up. In the beginning, Agent Kujan talked about how to spot a murderer: "Whoever's sleeping is your man. You see you're guilty, you get caught, so you can have some rest." When the usual suspects are first seen in their cell, Hockey is the only one reclining.

* While never remarked upon, Keyser Söze is always shown using his gun in his left hand. Verbal himself has a crippled left hand, which would seem to clear him of being Soze. In the end, however, Verbal's hand is revealed to work just fine, suggesting that he'd chosen to portray that disability specifically to throw suspicion off of him.

* There's also the tip off that Hockney was the one who did the hijacking in Queens that resulted in the line-up. In the beginning, Agent Kujan talked about how to spot a murderer: "Whoever's sleeping is your man. You see you're guilty, you get caught, so you can have some rest." When the usual suspects are first seen in their cell, Hockey is the only one reclining

* There's also the tip off that [[spoiler: Hockney]] was the one who did the hijacking in Queens that resulted in the line-up. In the beginning, Agent Kujan talked about how to spot a murderer: "whoever's sleeping is your man, you see you're guilty, you get caught, so you can have some rest." When the usual suspects are first seen in their cell, who's having a little nap?
* Peter Greene, the actor who played Redfoot, was uncredited because the character never existed.
* The way things go down in the "jewel" heist is another point in favor of Verbal being Söze. First off, assuming that we can believe our resident UnreliableNarrator, Söze & Kobayshi set the robbery up in the first place so that when it went bad and Saul died, it would make the Suspects come to them and Saul's death would be blackmail material to use against the Suspects. That doesn't happen without the death of Saul Berg though. So when it looks like Keaton won't go through with his threats and kill Saul, who finally steps up to do it? Verbal. Why? Because he needs that death to lure the Suspects into a bigger trap.
* As discussed on the main page, Keyser = Kaiser = King = Kint (ok, not perfect), Söze = 'easy with words' = verbal; using Batman logic, good with words = smooth talker = liar, making Keyser Söze the ''King of Lies''. Kint and the Hungarian outright refer to him as "the Devil"; this also plays into the trope of [[LouisCypher Satan using wordplay to hide in plain sight]].
* A fairly overlooked detail is that whenever Keyser Söze is shown using his gun in flash backs, he's using his ''left'' hand. Fairly unimportant, until you realize that all of these flashbacks are being told by Verbal Kint, [[spoiler: who turns out to be Keyser Söze in the end]] and just where is Verbal crippled? [[spoiler: His ''left'' hand and foot. He's subtly trying to clear himself off the suspect list by making Söze out to be a southpaw!]]
* The personas of all four dead members of the group are carefully constructed by Söze. In the case of Keaton, Söze plays up his intelligence, leadership skills, and general competence, which, combined with his reputation and what the police already know about him, points to him as the most likely "Söze". In the cases of Fenster, Hockney, and [=McManus=], they are all depicted as too stupid, hot-headed, or eccentric to be successful criminal masterminds, thus painting them as less likely "Sözes". Since none of the four are alive to speak for themselves, who's to say anything Söze says about them (barring anything that would be on official police records) is true?

* The personas of all four dead members of the group are carefully constructed by Söze. In the case of Keaton, Söze plays up his intelligence, leadership skills, and general competence, which, combined with his reputation and what the police already know about him, points to him as the most likely "Söze". In the cases of Fenster, Hockney, and McManus, they are all depicted as too stupid, hot-headed, or eccentric to be successful criminal masterminds, thus painting them as less likely "Sözes". Since none of the four are alive to speak for themselves, who's to say anything Söze says about them (barring anything that would be on official police records) is true?

** Verbal's arrest is the the only one not shown despite the fact that it is Verbal who is telling the story. The reason is most likely because the details of his arrest wouldn't match the character he's presenting to Kujan.

* A fairly overlooked detail is that whenever Keyser Söze is shown using his gun in flash backs, he's using his ''left'' hand. Fairly unimportant, until you realize that all of these flashbacks are being told by Verbal Kint, [[spoiler: who turns out to be Keyser Söze in the end]] and just where is Verbal crippled? [[spoiler: His ''left'' hand and foot. He's subtly trying to clear himself off the suspect list by making Söze out to be a lefty!]]

* Early on, Verbal tells strange little stories of his past, claiming, among other things, that he used to pick coffee beans in Guatemala and that he was once part of a barbershop quartet. Why would he do this? ''He's testing Kujan.'' He's checking to see if Kujan will call him out on such obvious bullshit. When Kujan fails to do so, Verbal knows that Kujan doesn't notice little details and can be fooled by a good story. So he tells Kujan a good story... and Kujan falls for it.

** Before Verbal talks about Kobayashi, there's a shot of Verbal looking up at Kujan just as Kujan is taking a drink from his coffee mug, giving Verbal a clear view of the "Kobayashi" insignia on the bottom of the mug.]]

** Verbal starts to recount incidents where he wasn't there. His arrest is the the only one not shown despite the fact that it is Verbal who is telling the story. The reason is of course because he is Söze and wasn't arrested.

** Verbal tells how Soze, confronted by a brutal rival gang, "showed those men of will what will really is" by shooting his own hostage-taken family and then the men themselves. Just a few scenes later we see him shoot the guy in the car that Keaton keeps threatening but never actually pulls the trigger.

** At one point, when Verbal mentions how someone like Keyser Soze won't stick his neck out if he is so close to being caught, ''he leans in closer to Kujan, sticking out his neck.''

* RewatchBonus: There are a few tip-offs that Verbal is Keyser Söze:

* At one point, when Verbal mentions how someone like Keyser Soze won't stick his neck out if he is so close to being caught, ''he leans in closer to Kujan, sticking out his neck.''

* It's easier to realize that Verbal is lying when he starts to recount incidents where he wasn't there.

*** One might also wonder why Verbal told random anecdotes based on stuff he caught sight of on Kujan's bulletin board, especially when they end up not having anything to do with the actual story (a barbershop quartet and someone he knew who was "Orca-fat"). This is actually Soze testing out his idea by seeing if Kujan notices anything familiar about what he's talking about. He does this again when Kujan apparently suspected that Verbal was making stuff up.

** When each suspect has to say the following line during the police line-up, the first four stress the syllable "keys", Verbal on the other hand stresses the word "me":
--->'''Suspect 1-4:''' Hand me the '''KEYS''', you ''[expletives]''
--->'''Verbal:''' Hand '''ME''' the keys, you ''[expletives]''
::: Verbal actually pronounces it as if he's trying to persuade someone "Not them, me!". Plus, the first four say it like they find it hilarious (Fenster's delivery is so ridiculously over-the-top that the four of them, ''but notably not Verbal'', even burst out laughing); while Verbal's deliverance is straight, icy and creepy.

* Peter Greene, the actor who played Redfoot was uncredited because the character never existed.

* RewatchBonus: There are a few tip-offs that [[spoiler: Verbal is Keyser Söze]]:
** [[spoiler: When they are released from the lineup and go out on the street, while Keaton is talking to Edie Finneran, the camera cuts to each of the others. In one shot Verbal is holding/smoking his cigarette between thumb and forefinger and palm facing up. This is an Eastern European trait commonly picked up by others in the region like, say, Turkey.]]
** [[spoiler: Before Kujan arrives, Verbal is shown glancing around the office, noticing details that he can turn into his impromptu story.]]
*** [[spoiler: One might also wonder why Verbal told random anecdotes based on stuff he caught sight of on Kujan's bulletin board, especially when they end up not having anything to do with the actual story (a barbershop quartet and someone he knew who was "Orca-fat"). This is actually Soze testing out his idea by seeing if Kujan notices anything familiar about what he's talking about. He does this again when Kujan apparently suspected that Verbal was making stuff up.]]
** [[spoiler: Before Verbal talks about Kobayashi, there's a shot of Verbal looking up at Kujan just as Kujan is taking a drink from his coffee mug, giving Verbal a clear view of the "Kobayashi" insignia on the bottom of the mug.]]
** [[spoiler: Verbal tells how Soze, confronted by a brutal rival gang, "showed those men of will what will really is" by shooting his own hostage-taken family and then the men themselves. Just a few scenes later we see him shoot the guy in the car that Keaton keeps threatening but never actually pulls the trigger.]]

** [[spoiler: Verbal starts to recount incidents where he wasn't there. His arrest is the the only one not shown despite the fact that it is Verbal who is telling the story. The reason is of course because he is Söze and wasn't arrested.]]
** [[spoiler: Verbal smiles slightly when convincing Kujan that Keaton is in fact dead, stating that he knows it for a fact.]]
* [[spoiler: Peter Greene, the actor who played Redfoot was uncredited because the character never existed.]]
* [[spoiler: The way things go down in the "jewel" heist is another point in favor of Verbal being Söze. First off, assuming that we can believe our resident UnreliableNarrator, Söze & Kobayshi set the robbery up in the first place so that when it went bad and Saul died, it would make the Suspects come to them and Saul's death would be blackmail material to use against the Suspects. That doesn't happen without the death of Saul Berg though. So when it looks like Keaton won't go through with his threats and kill Saul, who finally steps up to do it? Verbal. Why? Because he needs that death to lure the Suspects into a bigger trap.]]
* [[spoiler: It's easier to realize that Verbal is lying when he starts to recount incidents where he wasn't there.]]
* [[spoiler: As discussed on the main page, Keyser = Kaiser = King = Kint (ok, not perfect), Söze = 'easy with words' = verbal; using Batman logic, good with words = smooth talker = liar, making Keyser Söze the ''King of Lies''. Kint and the Hungarian outright refer to him as "the Devil"; this also plays into the trope of [[LouisCypher Satan using wordplay to hide in plain sight]].]]

* [[spoiler: At one point, when Verbal mentions how someone like Keyser Soze won't stick his neck out if he is so close to being caught, ''he leans in closer to Kujan, sticking out his neck.'']]

::: Verbal actually pronounces it as if he's persuading someone "Not them, me!". Plus, the first four act like they find it hilarious to say (Fenster's delivery is so ridiculous that the four of them, ''but notably not Verbal'', burst out laughing); while Verbal's deliverance is icy and creepy.

* There are a few tip-offs that [[spoiler: Verbal is Keyser Söze]]:

* There are a few tip-offs that [[spoiler: Verbal is Keyser Soze]]:

** [[spoiler: Verbal starts to recount incidents where he wasn't there. His arrest is the the only one not shown despite the fact that it is Verbal who is telling the story. The reason is of course because he is Soze and wasn't arrested.]]

* [[spoiler: The way things go down in the "jewel" heist is another point in favor of Verbal being Soze. First off, assuming that we can believe our resident UnreliableNarrator, Soze & Kobayshi set the robbery up in the first place so that when it went bad and Saul died, it would make the Suspects come to them and Saul's death would be blackmail material to use against the Suspects. That doesn't happen without the death of Saul Berg though. So when it looks like Keaton won't go through with his threats and kill Saul, who finally steps up to do it? Verbal. Why? Because he needs that death to lure the Suspects into a bigger trap.]]