Title Analysis of The Usual Suspects

"A boat has been destroyed, criminals are dead, and the key to this mystery lies with the only survivor and his twisted, convoluted story beginning with five career crooks in a seemingly random police lineup." - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114814/

This is what is first seen by the audience. We first see is a bunch of match sticks - this in it self would make the audience question the need for more than one matchstick when a single matchstick usually does the trick of setting something a light. Another question that arises is the background of this narrative as to where the person is for this scene which requires more than one match stick. The sound used for this action diegetic sound to further increase the reality of this scene so the audience can imagine or see the action taking place. However, the sound has been clearly edited with an increase of volume to show the match sticks being lit. The shot used here is a close up to focus attention on the match sticks. If this had been a mid shot or establishing shot, the focus of the audience would be split with other imagery in the background or foreground.

The question of who is lighting the match sticks is answered with the revelation of this man as he is seen lighting a cigarette but the question of why many matchsticks were seen alight still remains unanswered. One judgement which can be assumed is the male character is in a dark place, possibly an abandoned area due to the darkness of the background and also what seems to be a fire place with iron grill bars in front of the fire. Accompanying this action is the sound of water or some sort of liquid running down from somewhere, mimicking the sound a leaking roof or over flowing water/liquid barrel. This creates the suspense of where the character currently is and why they are there. The background fire along side the character wearing a coat suggests the person in a cold area - these elements combined suggest the person is not at the best moment of their life. The person also comes across at tired/weak or lazy because of their lower arm resting on what seems to be a wooden box. However, not much can be assumed as the surroundings to the left of the person can not be seen due to the angle of the mid shot, this makes the audience further question the characters' objectives and surroundings. This frame with a mid shot comes in straight after with a jump cut to the close up of the previous frame with the matchsticks. This tells the audience it was in fact this person who lit the several matchsticks in the previous frame.

The thought raised with the previous frame are proved to be true in this frame due to the surroundings being made clear - the belief of the person being in an abandoned, cold and wet area is evidently true thanks to the use of a wide shot. The wide shot helps to establish the surroundings, allowing the audience to further immerse themselves in the action that is taking place before them. From 0:08 seconds to 0:18 seconds water can once again be heard to be dripping down. A barrel is seen with a form of liquid over flowing, to show this a tilt is used. This creates tension as to where the water/liquid is leading to and why it is important, or if it is simply to further show the surroundings of this person in this scene. The barrel where the liquid is escaping from looks fairly old and worn down. This further creates the impression of the area being abandoned and not in its best possible state. Another reason to show the run down look, the character does not seem worried about ruining the area or about setting fire to his own surroundings, which put him himself in a position of danger. This act suggests he is not happy with his surroundings and with what has lead him find himself in this situation.

The fire that has started here explains the many matchsticks being lit within the first 2 seconds. Due to the speed and direction of the fire travelling, it suggests the liquid seen before has made its way onto the ground and is moving along in a line. From this, one can assume the ground is on a slope with the liquid travelling down the slope. It also becomes apparent the liquid seen was not water but some sort of fuel which can spark a fire such as petrol. For the audience this creates further questions as why the character himself is not worried about his own safety with the fuel and fire, it also creates the question of what else or who else is in the room as to where the fire or line of fuel is leading to. Along with this visual aid there is also the diegetic sound of the fire spreading with a slight sound of crackling added in to exaggerate the spreading of this fire.

The question of where the fire is going and who else is in the room is answered with this shot of someone lying (presumably no longer alive) with the fire spreading across the ground. This also creates imagery of criminal or devilish activity due to the fire surrounding the dead/injured man in a curve, presumably heading from a semi circle. This suggests this man was involved with the activities of the first man as he is surrounded by fire ignited by the first man. However this thought is contradicted by the idea of this man being a crew member on this boat who has been targeted, hence the reason he is in an area where not many people would think of going. The idea of him being a crew member derives from the khaki uniform and ladder in the background with the ropes which were seen along the way. At first glance of the man and from what he is wearing, the audience would assume him to be a crew member, the thought of this man being a victim could also be interpreted from the injuries to his face with blood and a fresh bruise on his cheek going up to his ear. This suggests he was hit around the head with something to then have an instant death or become unconscious.

The fire is extinguished by someone urinating, stopping the fire from spreading further. Generally this person would be portrayed as a hero but their face cannot be seen and the surroundings are still fairly dark suggesting the person may not be a hero after all. In terms of representation this act shows the person urinating and stopping the fire may be the one to stop the first man who initiated the fire with the matchsticks. The question and effect on audience would be to wonder who this new character is and how he is involved in this story. The positioning of the fire in this shot shows the fire being extinguished before it has reached the end of the screen - this may suggest the person who has extinguished the fire, will also stop the first man in his tracks before he can do anything else.

A silhouette is seen of the person coming down the stairs after extinguished. The person is walking down the stairs suggesting they are on the hull of the boat where the storage and engine rooms are. This area of a boat is generally for staff only and guests are not permitted. This explains the crew member and suggests the other two have forcefully entered. Due to the person seen as a silhouette, it raises the question of who the person is and how they came to know of the situation on the hull. The silhouette indicates the person is wearing a trench coat and a hat - these two combined demonstrate the person is on official business or trying to conceal something. All in all, this person knows the situation well and knows what they are doing. They may have possibly experienced this before. 

The mysteries figure then walks towards the first man we see. He asks him he is ready, the first man responds with asking the time. The mysterious figure then answers and then pulls out a gun. The camera then focuses on the gun and the mystery mans hand can be shaking as if he is trying really hard and putting his strength into firing the gun. The gun cannot be seen being fired but the gunshot can be heard. At the point of hearing the gunshot the camera is showing the exterior of the boat. This leaves the audience wondering who or what has been shot and what the after marth of this will be. What has been shot is most likely destructive or old containing another sort of liquid considering the wide shot from the third screen grab When the gun is seen, it seen coming out of the pocket on the trench coat proving the thought of the man concealing something in his coat.

The fire that was once lit by the first man, then extinguished by the mysterious figure is once again started off by the mysterious figure as he drops his cigarette on the flow on fuel across the ground. This suggests the first man and the mysterious figure are on the same team with the same objectives towards what they want to achieve. This raises the question of what their motive is and why they have partnered up.

The mysterious figure is seen once again climbing down the edge of the boat. Once again the mysterious figure is seen as a silhouette with no real clues as to who this person is or what they want. Although, it is clear this person is trying to escape from the boat hinting at the idea of a possible explosion seeing the fire before with the fuel and cigarette. This still does not answer the question of who this person is. The shot is the person in body length suggesting there will be high rates of action coming up with the mysterious figure ready to run.

The question of the explosion is answered with the next scene showing presumably the boat blowing up after seeing the fuel and fire being spread. It also raises another question of how the first person escaped and what was shot by the mysterious figure.