Identity

4/25/20031h 30m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ The secret lies within. ~

Overview:

Complete strangers stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers thin out, the travelers begin to turn on each other, as each tries to figure out who the killer is.

Director:

James Mangold

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$28,000,000.00

Revenue:

$90,259,536.00

Key words:

prostitute
prisoner
psychopath
nevada
detective
rain
motel
weather
ex-cop
murder
stranded
serial killer
slasher
psychological thriller
whodunit
storm
psychiatrist
convict
thunderstorm
rainstorm
split personality
mental disorders
murder mystery
dissociative identity disorder
isolated place

Cast

John Cusack

~ as ~

Ray Liotta

~ as ~

Rhodes

Amanda Peet

~ as ~

Paris

John Hawkes

~ as ~

Larry

Alfred Molina

~ as ~

Doctor

Clea DuVall

~ as ~

Ginny

John C. McGinley

~ as ~

George

William Lee Scott

~ as ~

Lou

Jake Busey

~ as ~

Robert Maine

Pruitt Taylor Vince

~ as ~

Malcolm Rivers

View full cast & crew

Reviews (5)

John Chard
Written 6 year(s) ago
7
His story's so unbelievable, I think it just might be true.

Identity is directed by James Mangold and written by Michael Cooney. It stars John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amada Peet, Clea DuVall, Rebecca De Mornay, Alfred Molina, John Hawkes, John C. McGinley, Jake Busey and Pruitt Taylor Vince. Music is by Alan Silvestri and cinematography by Phedon Papamichael Jr.

Inspired by Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians, Identity pitches 10 characters trapped at a motel who begin getting killed off one by one...

If you are going to do yet another take on Christies superb literary source then at least bring some freshness, so how nice to find that Identity does in fact ironically have its own. Set up is suitably in keeping with murder mystery shenanigans, there’s major flooding and our host of characters are bound to a shabby motel run by a shabby John Hawkes. On the edges of the frame we have another story where multiple killer Malcolm Rivers (the wonderful wobbly eyed P.T. Vince) is under interrogation to test for insanity to stave off his impending execution.

Mangold uses flashbacks to put the various characters at the motel, in how they came to be there. There’s a creative ambitiousness about how Mangold constructs the pic that draws you in, which come the finale will either have you satiated or stupefied. The murder sequences are very well put together, with a couple being well ghoulish, and it’s a very impressive cast of actors working their way through the formulaic but fascinatingly cheat free psychological murk.

It’s not as smart as it thinks it is but this has enough of an absorbing pull, and no little intelligence, to lift it higher than many other Agatha 10 copies. 7/10
l
light_michael
Written 6 year(s) ago
9
It's one of my favorites, I rate it four stars and a half.
The Movie Mob
Written 3 year(s) ago
7
Overall : One of the best plot twists I have ever seen!

Identity masterfully surprises and misleads every step of the way. What seems to be a run-of-the-mill slasher flick at a rundown motel on a stormy night is anything but average. With incredibly clever writing, Identity is a wild ride that will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Even if you are a pro at guessing who the killer is or catching plot twists before they happen, you will be shocked again and again by the twists and turns Identity takes. While it isn't a perfect movie, its creativity and rare brilliance make Identity a must-see film.
Andre Gonzales
Written 2 year(s) ago
10
Awesome movie. One of my favorites. Very suspenseful. Keeps you interested till the end. The only thing that sucks is once you watch it once, it ruins to watch it again cause you know exactly what's going on. Worth a watch for sure.
Dr_Nostromo
Written 4 week(s) ago
10
96/100

The story revolves around a group of people trapped in a desert motel that start dying off one by one. Both the viewer and the character's in the film come to the same conclusion - this doesn't make any sense. And that's when the twist is revealed. Absolutely brilliant!! Well written with fully fleshed-out characters and exceptional acting. One of my all-time favorite, profoundly twisted films. -- Drnostromo.com