R Review From Scalp to Soles 79
Later in the movie, when Kujan mentions the name of the noto-
rious criminal, Keyser Söze, Kint explodes. Described in various
terms as the devil incarnate, Keyser Söze is a powerful force whose
very name agitates those who know of him. The logical conclusion
from the outburst—one that most law enforcement officers and
audience members would draw—is that shock produces involun-
tary and universal responses, that is, honest responses. When that
happens, many parts of the face reveal the surprise, but particularly
the brow. As a corollary, one might conclude that Kint is a dullard
who doesn’t have the capacity to express feelings normally (hence
the lack of brow movement) or he just mimics his prison buddies
who stay cool under pressure, but regardless of which scenario is
true, ballistic Kint seems like the real deal.
The interrogation proceeds. As Kint seems to develop a sense
of comfort, or at least familiarity with Kujan, he begins to tell
stories with an animated face. Here is where I got suspicious,
because my baseline for him indicated his normal expression was
non-expression, so he seemed deceitful when he used his brow in a
typically “normal” way. Spacey’s Kint soon appears to uncoil, los-
ing his control as he talks about the shoot-out, expressing grief over
the loss of his friend; there’s lot of brow action here. He even
makes a disarming statement to Kujan that the reason he didn’t run
away was that he was afraid—and he accents it perfectly with
raised eyebrows, the standard indication of “request for approval.”
At the end, we find out just how good an actor Kint is. If there
is any screen character who seems to support Desmond Morris’s