rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2003
Directed by James Mangold; produced by Cathy Konrad; written by Michael Cooney
Starring John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes, Alfred Molina, John C. McGinley, Jake Busey, Rebecca DeMornay
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
'Identity' plays as a typical thriller but it has some surprises for us and
therefore it is elevated to a better thriller the longer the movie gets. The
typical part is a deserted motel on a stormy night. We have one motel clerk,
a family of three with one wounded mother, a cop with a convicted man, a
limo driver with an actress, a hooker and a just married couple. Some of
those people are murdered and everyone is suspected, of course the convicted
man the most. Until this point you can say the movie is filled with clichés,
although I have to admit that there really is suspense.
This story is sometimes interrupted by another story, that must have to do
with the things happening in the motel. In that other story we see how a man
sentenced to death gets one last chance because there is new evidence. How
the stories meet would spoil the surprise and the nice moments I definitely
had.
All actors here are well cast. John Cusack, an actor who can make almost any
movie work, is perfect as the limo driver who also is an ex-cop. Ray Liotta
as the cop is creepy and that works perfect in a movie like this. It makes
him a suspect as well. Amanda Peet as the hooker and John C. McGinley as the
father from the family are also pretty good. Others have less important
parts but play them the way they should be played. 'Identity' is a good
thriller, and not only because of the surprises.