Identity – The secret lies within…
“Cooney's achingly clever script has more up its sleeve than just Agatha Christie -- he also evokes "Psycho," "The Sixth Sense," "Poltergeist" and "The Omen" -- and the final third dishes up a twist that isn't just surprising, it's revealing.”
- John Powers, LA Weekly
Identity (2003) Movie Scene
Written directly for the screen by Michael Cooney and directed by James Mangold, this is a deftly made psychological mystery. Revolving around a serial killer and 10 strangers who are stranded in a motel, the plot gets intriguingly complex as it proceeds.
Malcolm Rivers (Pruitt Taylor Vince), a convicted killer with multiple personality disorder, undergoes a revised trial in the Nevada Court. Meanwhile, ten strangers are stranded in a motel in the deserted outskirts of Nevada during that stormy night. As the downpour intensifies, it cuts off the communication and road network, forcing the strangers to stay in the motel run by Larry (John Hawkes).
A visibly shaken George York (John C. McGinley) enters the motel with his young son to get medical assistance for his injured wife. Soon, a limo driver, Ed (John Cusack) who hit the same lady on the road, comes to the motel with a self-centered actress, Caroline Suzanne (Rebecca DeMornay). A recently married, quarrelsome couple Ginny (Clea DuVall) and Lou (William Lee Scott) also enter the motel.
Rhodes (Ray Liotta), a cop with secret past approaches the motel with a con man Robert Maine (Jake Busey), on his way to Kansas City. Paris (Amanda Peet), a reformed hooker, who wants to establish an orange farm in her hometown, joins the club. Trouble starts soon when the people in the motel get killed one by one, turning the needle of suspicion towards the imprisoned con man. However, the con man also dies horribly, creating spine-chilling shockwave to others…
Identity (2003) Movie Scene
Invariably, the performance of the ensemble cast makes the drama riveting and engrossing.
Simultaneously mixing the divergent plots, the well-structured story has enough twists and turns to confuse the viewers.
Moreover, the puzzling story culminates in the unbelievable climax, which is difficult to guess and convincingly original.
By
Srini