Identity Review
by Bob Bloom (bobbloom AT iquest DOT net)May 1st, 2003
IDENTITY (2003) 3 stars out of 4. Starring John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes, Alfred Molina, Clea DuVall, John C. McGinley, William Lee Scott, Jake Busey, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Rebecca DeMornay. Music composed and conducted by Alan Silvestri. Written by Michael Cooney. Directed by James Mangold. Rated R. Running time: 87 minutes.
Identity showcases a twisted and bloody nightmare that will leave you gasping and guessing up to — and including — its shocking finale.
What begins with all the ingredients of a typical slasher film — a stormy night, a decrepit and deserted motel in an out-of-the-way location, and a group of strangers — shortly transforms into something else.
At first you are not sure why events are transpiring as they do, but you get the sense that something is off-kilter. You just can't put your finger on what's troubling you.
As the guests begin being killed off in various gruesome manners you slowly discern that a connection exists between them. That link is the crux of Identity.
Another clue that the movie is more than it portends lies in the cast. You usually don't find the likes of John Cusack, Ray Liotta and Alfred Molina in your run-of-the-mill mad killer feature.
Nor would a director such as James Mangold, the man behind Cop Land and Girl, Interrupted, waste his talent on a mere formulaic murder-by-the-numbers film.
No, Identity offers more, and Mangold and writer Michael Cooney play their cards close to their vests until they are ready to reveal their secret to an audience panting with anticipation.
The more atuned moviegoers may pick up where the film is heading more quickly than others, but Identity's payoff does not disappoint.
Identity provides a clever premise wrapped in the well-worn skin, but it is more akin to Psycho than to Friday the 13th.
Suspense, chills and a trip down the garden path are what Identity brings to the table.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bbloom@journalandcourier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on movies.
Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database:
http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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