Wow, no comments on Keyser yet! What makes this work for me is that Verbal is presented completely opposite of Keyser - so much so it's a perfect dichotomy. Verbal is weak, a wimp, a cripple... and talks a lot. Part of what makes him great is the supporting cast around him, the "functions" that help define him as such like when Agent Kujan tells him he's weak, talks down to him, etc. He's the trickster in the role of unreliable narrator, much like Fenton Meiks (Matthew McConaughey) in Frailty.