Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Member since:
March 2002
March 2002
For anyone out there who is thinking IDENTITY is supposed to be a scary movie, I'm sorry to say it is not. I'd have to say people being killed in a rundown motel just doesn't frighten me anymore than your typical slasher movie. However, Identity is played a bit differently than what you might expect, and it ends up being no more then a psychological thriller, at best. The title of the movie is a dead giveaway to the plot, and once you see it you'll know exactly what I mean. Nevertheless, it is a fun film if you're looking to catch a few thrills with quite an original twist that I can't say I've seen in a movie like this. Ever since THE SIXTH SENSE, a few years ago, Hollywood has caught wind to the fact that audiences enjoy films that give us the shock and awe value. IDENTITY is another one of those films, in the slew of plot twister movies, that attempts to challenge our senses. The real question here is whether Identity is an effective addition to this genre of films?
The film is set somewhere in Nevada at a motel in the middle of nowhere. It begins on a rainy night as our characters, a total of ten, are mysteriously trapped at the motel. Of course the rain has flooded the road going in either direction to prevent any escape by our, soon to be, victims. Our most dominant characters come in an assortment of variety and flavors, which include, a limo driver (John Cusack), a police officer (Ray Liotta), an inmate (Jake Busey), and a Vegas prostitute (Amanda Peet). To be honest, there really isn't a lead character among any of them and they all seem to do a good job in upstaging eachother. So who is the main character lead you might ask . . . well, that's the mystery, and the one guy you never see at the motel. Once the stage is set, our victims are brutally murdered one by one. With each killing there is a room key left behind with a number on it, which later our characters figure out represents a count down. As you can imagine, our inmate tries to make a daring escape only to find wherever he goes, he ends up back at the motel. Further on our character's find they hold a unique connection to eachother by all of them sharing the same birthday. From this point I'd have to guess we're in for a missing Twilight Zone episode?
Many of the elements in Identity look like they came strait out of a Hitchcock movie, and the atmosphere is everything you might expect from a chilling movie, such as this. The pacing in the beginning is rather entertaining as we watch each persons' story come together to the point of ending up at the same place. Once the true plot is revealed, we realize we're in something far more psychological than scary. In fact I'd have to say the movie falls flat and our victims seem pointless to even care about. However, I will say it is a surprising twist and one I didn't see coming. I have to give kudos to writer, Michael Cooney, and director, James Mangold for at least attempting something original and fresh. Many films like this usually end up being too predictable and cliched, but with IDENTITY you at least get something having never been tried before. For at least 2/3rds of the movie you find yourself at the edge of your seat, but once all is revealed you tend to sit back and find it plainly interesting, and void of any thrills that may amount to anything short of exciting. The film is an enjoyable little thriller with all the dark elements you would expect in this type of movie. It certainly opens the door for this type of psychological joy ride to be attempted in future efforts, but ultimately IDENTITY falls short of being anything close to effective.
Rating: 6/10
traynor1964@netzero.com
The film is set somewhere in Nevada at a motel in the middle of nowhere. It begins on a rainy night as our characters, a total of ten, are mysteriously trapped at the motel. Of course the rain has flooded the road going in either direction to prevent any escape by our, soon to be, victims. Our most dominant characters come in an assortment of variety and flavors, which include, a limo driver (John Cusack), a police officer (Ray Liotta), an inmate (Jake Busey), and a Vegas prostitute (Amanda Peet). To be honest, there really isn't a lead character among any of them and they all seem to do a good job in upstaging eachother. So who is the main character lead you might ask . . . well, that's the mystery, and the one guy you never see at the motel. Once the stage is set, our victims are brutally murdered one by one. With each killing there is a room key left behind with a number on it, which later our characters figure out represents a count down. As you can imagine, our inmate tries to make a daring escape only to find wherever he goes, he ends up back at the motel. Further on our character's find they hold a unique connection to eachother by all of them sharing the same birthday. From this point I'd have to guess we're in for a missing Twilight Zone episode?
Many of the elements in Identity look like they came strait out of a Hitchcock movie, and the atmosphere is everything you might expect from a chilling movie, such as this. The pacing in the beginning is rather entertaining as we watch each persons' story come together to the point of ending up at the same place. Once the true plot is revealed, we realize we're in something far more psychological than scary. In fact I'd have to say the movie falls flat and our victims seem pointless to even care about. However, I will say it is a surprising twist and one I didn't see coming. I have to give kudos to writer, Michael Cooney, and director, James Mangold for at least attempting something original and fresh. Many films like this usually end up being too predictable and cliched, but with IDENTITY you at least get something having never been tried before. For at least 2/3rds of the movie you find yourself at the edge of your seat, but once all is revealed you tend to sit back and find it plainly interesting, and void of any thrills that may amount to anything short of exciting. The film is an enjoyable little thriller with all the dark elements you would expect in this type of movie. It certainly opens the door for this type of psychological joy ride to be attempted in future efforts, but ultimately IDENTITY falls short of being anything close to effective.
Rating: 6/10
traynor1964@netzero.com
