Daily Dialogue — November 13, 2019

Verbal: [referring to Rabin] That guy is tense. Tension is a killer. I used to be in a barbershop quartet in Skokie, Illinois. The baritone was this guy named Kip Diskin, big fat guy, I mean, like, orca fat. He was so stressed in the morning…
Dave Kujan: Verbal, you know we’re trying to help you.
Verbal: Sure, and I appreciate that. And I wanna help you, Agent Kujan. I like cops. I would’ve liked to have been a fed myself, but my CP…
Dave Kujan: Verbal, you’re not telling us everything. I know you know something.
Verbal: I told the DA everything I know.
Dave Kujan: Verbal, I know you like Keaton. I know you think he’s a good man.
Verbal: I know he was good.
Dave Kujan: He was a corrupt cop.
Verbal: Sure, fifteen years ago, but he was a good thief. Anyway, the cops wouldn’t let him go legit.
Dave Kujan: Dean Keaton was a piece of shit.
Verbal: Are you trying to get a rise out of me, Agent Kujan?
Dave Kujan: I just wanna hear your story.
Verbal: It’s all there. May I have a cigarette?

— —

Dave Kujan: You know a dealer named Ruby Deamer, Verbal?
Verbal: You know a religious guy named John Paul?
Dave Kujan: You know Ruby’s in Attica?
Verbal: He didn’t have my lawyer.

— —

Dave Kujan: First day on the job, you know what I learned? How to spot a murderer. Let’s say you arrest three guys for the same killing. You put them all in jail overnight. The next morning, whoever’s sleeping is your man. You see, if you’re guilty, you know you’re caught, you get some rest, you let your guard down. You follow me?
Verbal: No.
Dave Kujan: Let me get right to the point. I’m smarter than you and I’m gonna find out what I want to know and I’m gonna get it from you whether you like it or not.

— The Usual Suspects (1995), written by Christopher McQuarrie

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Interrogation. Today’s suggestion by Trent Douglas.

Trivia: All of the characters’ names stem from the staff members of the law firm and the detective agency that Christopher McQuarrie worked at when he was young.

Dialogue On Dialogue: In The Usual Suspects, the interrogation between Kujan and Verbal is the framework for the entire movie, much like the depositions are in The Social Network.

And in the end, it turns out… Verbal is smarter than Kujan.