The Usual Suspects
The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. The Devil is not one of the con men on this list, but the final entry provides someone who is almost certainly the next best thing.
‘Verbal’ Kint has witnessed a major crime. Having been mixed up with the worst kind of people, he was involved in a violent encounter, following a string of criminal acts. In custody, he tells US Customs agent Dave Kujan the story of the most feared criminal that ever lived; Keyser Soze.
It was this mythical mastermind that brought together five petty criminals, coercing them into pulling a major caper. Their mission was the murder of one man, the only person who could identify Keyser Soze, threatening to pull Soze’s criminal empire down.
The con is quite simple, really. Hiding in plain sight. The genius, though, is the story that is weaved in order to hide the truth from Kujan, the twists, turns and misdirection designed to divert Kujan’s attention from what is clear right in front of him. The greatest trick Keyser Soze ever pulled was convincing the world that Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint DID exist.
