Movie Review Identity

Identity (2003) 

Directed by James Mangold 

Written by Michael Cooney

Starring John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina, Clea Duvall 

Release Date April 25th, 2003 

Published April 24th, 2003 

I have harped on this issue many times in many reviews, and though I know many readers have tired of my constant ranting on the subject. Nevertheless, I must once again complain about a movie’s ad campaign. While many felt the trailer for Identity is one of the best of the year thus far, and I don't disagree necessarily, I must complain about how much of the mystery it gives away.

Now the most observant of viewers will not solve the film’s mystery from the trailer. However, once you’re sitting in the theater and applying what you learned from the film’s marketing campaign, it doesn't take long for the mystery to fall apart. That said, thanks to the clever script and another stellar performance by John Cusack, Identity neatly transcends its predictability.

So we have a dark and stormy night, a lonely motel with a creepy clerk (John Hawkes), and a group of strangers with something in common. The setup is familiar, and the various homages are sprinkled throughout. Cusack plays Ed, a former cop turned limo driver for a diva ex star (Rebecca De Mornay). As Ed is driving the star to LA through Nevada, he accidentally hits a woman (Leila Kenzle) as she waits for her husband (John C. McGinley) to change a flat tire. The injury is life threatening, and the woman needs immediate medical attention. 

Unfortunately, the roads were washed out by the storm. Ed takes everyone to a roadside motel where they are joined by a cop (Ray Liotta) who is transferring a prisoner (Jake Busey). Also on hand is a prostitute (Amanda Peet), giving up her profession to go to Florida and start over and a young married couple (William Lee Scott and Clea Duvall) to round out the group. As soon as everyone is assembled, people start dying.

In parallel to this story is a court hearing for a convicted murderer (Pruitt Taylor Vince) whose psychiatrist (Alfred Molina) attempts to convince an obstinate judge that his patient is too insane to execute. The two stories don't dovetail early on, but if you are observant it won't take long to figure out the connection.

I'm not going to give anything away because I don't have to, the trailer does enough. Thankfully, Michael Cooney's script is so crafty and interesting that it saves the film from itself. He takes elements of Agatha Christie, Hitchcock and classic horror and mixes it with subtle nods to Freud and even Sartre. Along those lines, an early scene of a book in Cusack's limo is a wonderful inside joke you won't get until after the movie is over.

Cusack is the most effective of the doomed cast, none of whom seems the most likely to survive. Amanda Peet turns in another effective performance that takes advantage of her sexy presence and innate ability to earn audience sympathy. Ray Liotta, another of my favorite actors, seems dialed down a little from his intense performance in Narc and that is likely because his character is the most underwritten of the group.

If only the trailer hadn't given so much away, Identity could have been a really fun shocker that would have people talking for weeks after seeing it. Unfortunately, the film overplayed its hand and its biggest surprise was ruined for me before the second act. As it is, it's a cleverly written and well-directed Saturday night rental. But oh, what might have been.