Identity

Rating

Director

James Mangold

Screenplay

Michael Cooney

Length

90 min.

Starring

John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina, Clea DuVall, Rebecca De Mornay, John C. McGinley, John Hawkes, William Lee Scott, Jake Busey, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Leila Kenzle, Bret Loehr

MPAA Rating

R (For strong violence and language)

Review

Fate brings ten strangers together in a sleazy motel in the middle of nowhere in Arizona. When someone starts murdering the travelers, a mystery in the grand tradition of Agatha Christie begins.

Identity stars a slew of talented individuals as the weary visitors whose lives are about to change dramatically. The film opens with a montage of events that establish many of the characters while introducing a secondary storyline miles away as a man about to be put to death goes through a last minute appeal. The cast of characters of the first story includes John Cusack as ex-cop and chauffeur Ed; a police officer named Rhodes (Ray Liotta) who’s transporting a dangerous convict (Jake Busey); spoiled movie starlet and Ed’s passenger Caroline Suzanne (Rebecca De Mornay); Amanda Peet as the life-changing hooker Paris; beleaguered husband George York (John C. McGinley), his injured wife Alice (Leila Kenzle) and their son Timothy (Bret Loehr); Norman Bates-style motel owner Larry (John Hawkes); and newlyweds Ginny (Clea DuVall) and Lou (William Lee Scott).

The second story focuses mainly on Alfred Molina as a psychologist who has discovered the reason that a convicted and sentenced-to-die murderer played by Pruitt Taylor Vince committed the murders. These two stories eventually intertwine, but their connection is an unusual one. While Molina attempts to sway a tired and irritated judge into the belief that Vince is not responsible for his actions, new murders are occurring at the deserted inn where the aforementioned visitors have sought cover from a storm.

One by one, these ten supposedly random strangers are slowly picked off by a psychotic killer whose identity shifts from suspect to suspect as those thought to be responsible are brutally murdered. Much like Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery And Then There Were None , a book made into a movie five times, the latter four with the title Ten Little Indians , Identity slowly kills off its characters and reserves the identity of the killer until the cruel end. With Christie’s novel an obvious inspiration to screenwriter Michael Cooney, we witness an homage to a classic style with a new twist. Starting the film out, the script is tight and intriguing. However, as the film winds down in its last 20 minutes, the style becomes loose and unstable. The arguments become stale, thanks in part to Liotta’s over-the-top performance and the conclusion, while bearing a fantastic twist, is unimpressive and unnecessary.

Cusack and Peet lead the terrific performances with nuanced characters and palpable emotion. McGinley, Hawkes and Vince also give believable performances while the rest of the cast give good performances with the exception of Liotta and Busey who pale in stark comparison.

Given the theme of the screenplay, director James Mangold gives us terrific performances and absorbing style that keeps the audience in suspense. A touch of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is present, but the similarities are minimal. Together, Mangold and Cooney have created a fun film filled with allusions to Christie’s novel, which starts out with a celebrity being the first victim and is directly correlated to Identity.

Anyone who’s read the book will be able to uncover the killer’s identity, but viewers may not be able to recognize the killer in the novel if they see the movie first. My recommendation is to read the book first, an experience that will entertain readers of many ages, and then watch the movie. Doing so will give you lots of mind-challenging delights trying to figure out where the movie took its inspiration. It may ruin part of the movie but there will still be plenty of thrills and surprises to keep you happy.

Review Written

May 13, 2003