The Usual Suspects

Here is a perennial question in religious ethics:  If people should do good out of fear of God, what should they do for fear of the Devil?

This is a central issue of The Usual Suspects, a 1995 movie.  The Devil in the movie is a mysterious Hungarian master criminal named Keyser Soze.  This crime lord has achieved a mythical status as someone who controls a vast underground empire by manipulating other criminals.  Most of the time, they are not even aware of his identity.  Or is Keyser Soze really only a legend?  According an informer nicknamed Verbal (played by Kevin Spacey), "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

The plot of the movie centers on a group of five criminals who are brought together by an apparent coincidence.  Led by Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), this gang plans and carries out a perfect heist.  Keaton wants to go straight, though, so he decides to quit.  Before he can go, they are approached by a lawyer who claims to represent Keyser Soze.  The lawyer somehow knows everything about their criminal pasts, and he threatens to expose them and kill their loved ones unless they cooperate.  Accoording to the lawyer, Keyser Soze wants the gang to attack and destroy a seemingly impregnable ship which belongs to one of his rivals.

The plot is an intricate crime story which is told in retrospect by Verbal.  The element that makes it dramatic, though, is the nearly superstitious fear that is inspired by the malevolent Keyser Soze, who is repeatedly compared to the Devil.  Do the criminals fear him so much, even without having seen him in person, that they will take on a nearly impossible job?

The movie raises wider questions with this issue.  Modern society seems obsessed with conspiracy theories, blaming every unusual event on a plot by one secret organization or another.  What makes people so eager to blame adversity on a entity that is intent on doing evil?  Why do people fear the actions of an evil being or organization, even though the abilities it would need in order to carry out its activities in secret would be unbelievable?  In the movie, Keyser Soze is said to control a huge criminal empire, yet the criminals think he is a myth and the police have hardly heard of him.  Is this different from blaming the Kennedy assasination on a government conspiracy, or a rise in gasoline prices on a cartel of oil companies?  Even worse, why are militant people willing to send bombs to strangers or shoot innocent people out of fear of these Devils?

This is a good movie with an intriguing plot, good acting, and a surprising ending.  This movie is available on video.  It has violent scenes and strong language.

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