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Identity
Written by Sharon

Just when I think American cinema feels uninspired, I see a film that changes my mind. I went into Identity not knowing what to expect and you know what? I didn't expect what I got! And that's a good thing, ladies and gentlemen! This film likes to lead you in one direction the abruptly turns you to another. It starts with a psychologist (Alfred Molina) reviewing a case then making notes on a prisoner. It seems that some evidence was withheld so he's making an appeal to the judge on the eve of the prisoner's execution. But the star of the film, also the narrator, is Ed (played by the ever reliable John Cusack) an ex-cop turned freelance driver who's taking a spoiled bitchy actress (played by Rebecca DeMornay) back to Hollywood (I guess) when a big storm erupts and they mistakenly run down a woman (Leila Kenzle from Mad About You) in front of her family (played by John McGinley and Bret Loehr).

Soon the roads are washed out and the two cars convene upon a motel; the phones are down too so they can't call for help for the woman. Ed tries to find help but only succeeds in finding Paris (Amanda Peet), a hooker who's just gotten herself out of the business. Before long, other characters show up at the motel: Ginny (Clea Duvall) and Lou (William Lee Scott) a young newly-wed couple that are having problems already and Rhodes (Ray Liotta) a cop escorting a prisoner (Jake Busey) to a hearing. Larry (John Hawkes) sets upon Paris immediately, making snide comments about her profession, which makes you wonder if something bad happened between them.

Once the characters are at the hotel, the circumstances make tensions mount and before long, bodies start turning up with hotel keys numbering a countdown 10 to 1. So who is the killer? The only person we know it's NOT is the injured mother, spending damn near the whole movie in bed. I won't spoil it for you, you'll just have to see it yourself! I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by the turn of events-it was certainly something I never saw coming! The ending is a bit of a letdown, in my opinion, simply because it didn't seem to know when to stop. Too many Hollywood films (and some outside of Hollywood) suffer from this affliction.

I notice that Identity is classified under Horror, Mystery AND Thriller-I'm not really sure about the horror part, unless you're referring to the murders themselves, yeah they're of the horror film variety but that's the only real connection to that. The cast is good too; especially John Cusack and Ray Liotta and for once, Amanda Peet didn't make me want to smack the hell out of her. I'm sorry, there is just something about that woman that grates on me. She and Cusack have good chemistry though a love story is not really explored, thankfully. I say that because love stories during crisis is a pet peeve of mine-if I'm worried about being killed, I really doubt I'll be wanting to do the hibbity-gibbity with anyone, I'll be too focused on keeping myself alive.

If you're looking for a thriller that'll keep you guessing, you won't go wrong with Identity. It's a clever, twisted story that leads you down one path before abruptly changing the way.




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