Identity (2003) A review by Shlomoh Sherman April 8, 2024 Read about Identity On the Internet Movie Data Base

Identity (2003) Plot Synopsis: Stranded at a desolate Nevada motel during a nasty rain storm, ten strangers become acquainted with each other when they realize that they're being killed off one by one. Director: James Mangold Writer: Michael Cooney (screenplay) Stars: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Ray Liott, Rebecca De Mornay, Alfred Molina, See more cast below Plot Keywords: killer - rainstorm - motel Taglines: "When I was going up the stairs, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today. I wish, I wish he'd go away." Motion Picture Rating (MPAA) Rated R for strong violence and language Parents Guide: See below Box Office: Budget: $28,000,000 (estimated Genres: Mystery, thriller Country: United States Language: English Release Date: April 25, 2003 (United States) Filming Locations: Four Aces Movie Ranch - 14499 E Ave Q, Palmdale, California, USA(motel) Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes Sound Mix: DTSDolby DigitalSDDS Color: Color Awards: 1 win & 11 nominations - See below

Storyline Somewhere in Nevada, at night, in the midst of a heavy rainstorm, several people are forced to stop at a lonely motel. The roads are flooded and there is no telephone service, and therefore the travelers cannot leave the motel till the storm is over. During the night, each of them is horribly killed, one by one, by an unknown assailant. But ex-cop, Ed, manages to get Paris, an ex-prostitute, safely out of the motel in one of the cars before he himself is killed. Soon the viewing audience discovers that beneathe this storyline, there is another, more horrifying and shocking tale driving the motel story. I have seen this movie at least ten times if not more and I cannot believe that I have not written a review before. From the first time that I saw it, I was enthralled. The acting, directing and cinematography are superb. To say that the story had me on the edge of my seat is no eggageration. Both stories; the one desciribing the stormy night at the motel as well as the one underlying it are beautifully and terrorfyingly interwoven so as to achieve the desired dramatic effect and affect on the viewer. The cast is wonderfully chosen and includes some of my favorite actors. I have long been a fan of John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina, and Rebecca De Mornay. As usual, I include in my movie reviews, at excerpt from at least one reviewer on IMDB. Here is one from 877's September 10, 2003 review: Edge of the seat thriller I've never before seen a film that made me sit on the edge of my seat practically from the opening credits. And I never got to sit back. This is a psychological thriller of the best type. There is plenty of opportunity for you to nominate the "bad guy" and while you may be right in a sense, you will probably also be wrong. The ending is a real shocker - and I suspect that the typical reaction of many viewers is to say "No way" - but if you think about it, it is the only possible ending. And you have to think about it - the film is so action-filled that you never have time. And the realization must come after the closing credits roll. I'd never seen John Cusack in anything but a comedy before (except for a film called "Max", but I saw that before I knew who Cusack was). He pulled off drama equally as well as he does comedy. An impressive talent. And an impressive film. KUDOS TO John Cusack well remmeberd for his roles in 2012, Runaway Jury, Grosse Pointe Blank, Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil, Stand By Me, Say Anything, and Max - in which he plays a Jewish art dealer whom young Hitler is trying to impress. My review of Max can be seen at http://shlomohsherman.com/reviews/max/, and my review of Say Anything can be seen at http://shlomohsherman.com/reviews/sayanything/ KUDOS TO Ray Liotta, an awesome performer, often playing the role of a strong man, appearing in Goodfellas, Field Of Dreams, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, John Q, Hannibal, Cop Land, and Turbulence in which he plays a serial killer KUDOS TO Amanda Peet whom I always viewed as an adorable girl-next door - although in this film, she plays against type as an ex-prostitute. She can be seen in She's The One, Changing Lanes, Something's Gotta Give, The X-Files, and Identity Thief KUDOS TO Alfred Molina, an actor's actor, leading and character actor; this British actor, son of an Italian mother, has always made an incredible impression on me; best remembered for his role as Sayyed Bozorg Mahmoody, an Iranian professor [Not Without My Daughter] who took his wife and daughter to Iran and subjected them to abuse KUDOS TO Rebecca De Mornay - what can I say about this oh so beautiful woman whose motion picture appearences have always moved me artistically and errotically. Best remembered for the evil nanny in The Hand That Rocks The Cradle for which she won the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain

Trivia: ."When I was going up the stairs / I met a man who wasn't there. / He wasn't there again today / I wish, I wish he'd go away." One character claims to have written this poem. It is really a poem titled 'Antigonish' by William Hughes Mearns. This poem was also turned into a popular song, giving it widespread attention. .Several endings were filmed in order to shroud the real conclusion in secrecy. .Some location shooting occurred in Lancaster and other places in Los Angeles County. But the majority of the movie was shot on an enormous sound stage at Sony Studios in Culver City--the same studio that once housed the set for the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz (1939). .The song the prisoner starts to sing as he is led to the bathroom is "I Got Stripes," a prison song by Johnny Cash, who died the year after the film's release. .According to James Mangold, when shooting the film in studio and using a heavy rain backdrop, a water system was used to simulate the cold rain. As a result of working on such a water-drenched set for long hours, it wasn't uncommon for the cast to become afflicted with the common cold. .John Cusack and Amanda Peet would later go on to play the lead roles in 2012 (2009), where they play a recently divorced couple. .Marshall Bell and John Cusack previously co-starred in Stand by Me (1986) as father and son. Goofs: .Caroline takes what appears to be a cordless landline phone from it's base to search for a signal. If this were a landline, no signal bars would be indicated. In addition, the wireless phone would soon be out of range as she searched for a signal, rendering the phone useless. Alternate versions: .The Extended version is about 1 minute longer than the original Theatrical cut. The altered ending in the Extended cut is also slightly more violent. .The DVD contains an extended version with an additional scene at the courthouse. This occurs right after Lou, Ginny and Paris go to their rooms for the first time. It shows Dr. Malick arriving and Detective Varole getting upset that the prisoner transport is out of contact. It also has a slightly altered ending that intercuts the supposed killer with the real person committing the murders. Soundtracks: .Win Music Season 19 from "Wheel of Fortune" Written and Performed by Steve Kaplan Courtesy of Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. .All My Life Written and Performed by Foo Fighters Courtesy of Roswell Records / The RCA Records Label, a unit of BMG Music .For He's a Jolly Good Fellow Traditional .I Want You Written and Performed by Bob Dylan Courtesy of Columbia Records By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

PARENTS GUIDE FOR IDENTITY (2003) MPAA -Rated R for strong violence and language Argentina:16  Australia:MA  Brazil:16  Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia)  Canada:18A (Manitoba/Ontario)  Canada:14 (Nova Scotia)  Canada:13+ (Quebec)  Chile:14  Denmark:15  Egypt:16+ (self-applied)  Finland:K-16/13  Finland:K-15/13 (original rating)  France:12  Germany:16  Iceland:16  India:A  Israel:16 (self-applied)  Italy:T  Japan:PG-12  Malaysia:18SG  Mexico:B15  Netherlands:16  New Zealand:R16  Norway:15 (2003, cinema rating)  Philippines:R-18  Poland:16 (self-applied)  Portugal:M/16  Russia:16+  Singapore:NC-16  South Korea:15  Spain:13  Sweden:15  Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons)  Taiwan:18+  Turkey:18+ (self-applied)  United Kingdom:15  United Kingdom:18 (YouTube)  United States:R (certificate #38872)  United Arab Emirates:Not Rated (self-applied) SEX & NUDITY: .A prostitute wearing lingerie is seen with a male client tied to a bed. It is mentioned several times throughout the film that the woman is a prostitute. ON ( 06:20 MINT) .Playboy type magazines are briefly shown, but no nudity. .After a man mildly flirts with a woman, she makes a mild innuendo and turns him down. .It is implied that one of the characters is a porn star. She often wears low-cut clothing. VIOLENCE & GORE: .A man is hit by a truck and pinned against a wall (we see a bloody hand and then the bloody corpse later) and a car explodes after a boy and woman get in it. .Two characters run to a car and then seconds later we see the car explode, their bodies supposedly incinerated inside. .A man is stabbed in the back with a sharpened piece of metal (we see him later in the trunk of a car) and a man is strangled with a chain around his neck. .A man shoots a man in the chest and shoots at a woman. Two men shoot each other repeatedly and fall dead (they are both covered with blood). .Pictures of bloody murder victims are visible while the murders are discussed. Some blood but no gore. .A woman is suffocated with a pillow offscreen by a little boy .A man holds a knife to a woman's throat. .A man carries an unconscious woman and they are both covered with blood. .Two men shove and punch a man repeatedly (he has a bloody nose). .A man is hit on the back with a fire extinguisher. .A man punches a man in the face (he falls unconscious). .A man grabs a man around the throat, and a man drags a woman out of a car. .A woman opens a door, sees the shadow of someone raising a knife, she screams, jumps out a window and runs away. .A man pounds on and kicks a door repeatedly. .A man and a woman yell and argue bitterly, and a woman cries and acts hysterically. .A woman is decapitated and we see blood spray on a shower curtain she carries over her head and see her severed head (with a bloody neck) in a clothes dryer. .A car graphically and suddenly slams into a woman as she backs up from her car and into the road. We later see this from the point of view of the car as it accidentally strikes her. She has a large laceration on her neck and it is stitched up. .A man lies dead and covered with blood after having been stabbed (we see him a couple of times). .A a man is found dead after having a baseball bat shoved down his throat (we see him a few times). .A man's body is discovered frozen in a large walk in freezer. .A man is strangled with handcuffs offscreen. PROFANITY: .'F*ck' is said about 29 times. .'Sh*t' is said 22 times. .'Wh*re' is said four times. .'B*tch' is said twice and 'son of a b*tch' is said twice. .'Sh*t' is said once. .'Godd*mn' is said 10 times. .'H*ll' is said 6 times. .7 uses of 'Oh God', three uses of 'Jesus Christ', one use of 'Jesus' and one use of 'Jesus, mother of God'. .'D*mn' is said 16 times .'B*stard' is said once. ALCOHOL, DRUGS & SMOKING: .Larry drinks shots of whisky at the beginning of the film. .A woman smokes a cigarette while riding in a car. .A woman drinks a shot alone in her hotel room. .A character is seen smoking. .It's mentioned that a character is given medical drugs to calm himself. FRIGHTENING & INTENSE SCENES: .When a woman is struck by a car, it is very shocking and comes out of nowhere. Her husband and son are present which makes it even more difficult. .The bloody aftermath of the murders is often disturbing and shocking as the victims are frequently mutilated or brutalized. .The violent deaths of most of the characters and the violence throughout is intense. .A man recalls a time when he tried to prevent a suicidal pregnant woman from jumping off a building. The woman asked for a reason to live and the man hesitated, causing her to jump to her death. .A character is stalked by someone and then she is suddenly grabbed. The end sequence may freak out some viewers. A few other jumpscares as well. .A dark and intense atmosphere throughout, but the film is more of a suspense thriller than an actual horror. SPOILERS: .The Parents Guide items below may give away important plot points. Violence & Gore: .A woman is threatened by someone holding a garden tool and then we see the flashbacks of all the murders that happened in the motel segment. The character kills her offscreen. .A man has a bloody hole on his shirt. .A car has a blow out and swerves on a wet road. .Lightning strikes the roof of a motel and it caves in. .There is a series of stick drawings of people with blood pouring from their mouths. Frightening & Intense Scenes: .The ending is very shocking and disturbing.