MovieChat Forums > The Usual Suspects (1995) Discussion > Is Usual Suspects proof of the inefficac...

Is Usual Suspects proof of the inefficacy of this filmwriting strategy:

posted 9 years ago by Flabulous
10 replies | jump to latest

To "just write" without forward-thinking the story's plot and overall design?

I have long been of the opinion that writing stories is less about writing so much as the design. Those writers who "get stuck at the end" have fallen prey to a lack of design. The best stories are the ones that resolve clearly and satisfyingly or intentionally don't resolve satisfyingly. This doesn't imply they must be formulaic, only well-structured. Good stories are good design.

[–] detroit-velvet-smooth 9 years ago

Well this film played out like a novel more than a typical movie, non linear, flashbacks, unreliable narrator. Very vogue for the mid 90s after Tarantino hit it big.

[–] gottaluvafriend 8 years ago

I haven't studied authors' opinions in regard to the question you broach but I know that it's a classic contention. My personal experience has been that even an informal outline or definite plan should be allowed to assume a secondary place to what a story is or is to become.

[–] Chester (223) a year ago

What makes you think The Usual Suspects was ‘just written’ with no structure..?

[–] R_Kane (15828) a year ago

“Think”? You’re assuming facts not in evidence.

I am a writer. NO book or movie is sold without having a complete narrative outline in place. Book publishers call this a “proposal,” movie studios call it a “treatment.”

[–] Chester (223) a year ago

I haven’t assumed anything. I’ve asked the OP, who has made that assumption, why he thinks so 🤷‍♂️

[–] [deleted] a year ago

Do you realize that you're responding to an 8 year old comment, from a different site?

What probably made the OP think that is that there's nothing about the story that follows the traditional outline for storytelling, which is plot, conflict, b plot, resolution. The reason why is that the entire thing story was based around faking out the audience as long as possible before unveiling the fake twist.

A contrast to this movie is Charade. Although the plot is pretty straightforward, the storytelling is very intricate and plays like a jigsaw puzzle in which all the pieces fall together in the end.

[–] Chester (223) a year ago

Do you realize that you're responding to an 8 year old comment, from a different site?

Yes. Even though the OP is long gone I can still rejuvenate the discussion and people like yourself will come and engage with it.

It’s weird that the OP assumes Usual Suspects was ‘just written’ when it has a very deliberate twist ending and there are clues to it throughout, making the film plenty rewatchable.

I will however admit that it is a rare case of a twist not enhancing the main narrative, but crapping on it, and I haven’t decided whether that was deliberate or an act of incompetence by the filmmakers.

[–] [deleted] a year ago

I will however admit that it is a rare case of a twist not enhancing the main narrative.

It's not a rare case. It's a typical flaw of badly written scripts from people who don't understand how twists work. There are tons of these bad examples throughout film, the worst being Jacob's Ladder and Shutter Island.

I will however admit that it is a rare case of a twist not enhancing the main narrative, but crapping on it, and I haven’t decided whether that was deliberate or an act of incompetence by the filmmakers.

It was incompetence. I'm a huge fan of psychological thrillers and murder mysteries. There's supposed to be a way that twists are set up. Twists are supposed to be ironic and at the same time, like you said, enhance the narrative. One way of enhancing the narrative is to set up a lot of unanswered questions that starts to nag at the audience so that when the twist is unveiled, everyone goes, "Oh, THAT explains it!"

Another way of enhancing the narrative is to have an early scene or plot point in a story take on a completely new and different meaning than it did before and in a way that is surprising, shocking or delightful, but still works on both levels. The twist is not supposed to cancel out what happened before.

For example, the twist on Mulholland Drive actually works on two levels. Regardless of what really happened, it still is a tragic love story about unrequited love. What changes is that we learn that a character, who seemed to a very sweet and innocent person, was really evil. Another really good twist was the original Wicker Man.

What The Usual Suspects did was the opposite. It just lied the entire time and then told the truth in the end. That the "twist" was a hollow plot device is why Kevin Spacey's had to walk with a limp. There was so little to the twist itself that the screenplay relied on prejudices about handicapped people to further sell it. If Spacey's character hadn't been handicapped, the "twist" would've been far less impressive and nobody would be talking about this movie.

[–] Chester (223) a year ago

There are tons of these bad examples throughout film, the worst being Jacob's Ladder and Shutter Island.

Those are two great films with fantastic twists.

I suggest you develop an understanding of film and get some taste, or give up.

[–] [deleted] a year ago

I give up.