Identity

[Lilaena De'Ville]

John Cusack never ages. How does he do that??

Ok, John Cusack aside, this movie was pretty good. Add in John Cusack and Amanda Peet and it's more than pretty good.

The main premise of the plot is that ten strangers get stranded at a motel, and then...people start dying. This isn't a spoiler, because its stated several times in the trailers for the movie.

The twisted part happens when the bodies start disappearing. And then the prison transfer isn't who you thought it was, and there are more convicts involved than you thought at the beginning, and basically my heart jumped out of the top of my head at least three times. Honestly.

But I'm the easily startled type that guys love taking to scary movies. Anyway...Identity was suspenseful, and not super gory, although the possibility of gore was pretty high. It was a cross between a mindscrewing movie and a slasher flick...let me tell you, my head is certainly messed with.

My roommate said it wasn't as good as the Ring, but she thought it was still pretty good. The ending really makes you want to stand up and shout HOLY CRAP, which I almost did. I supressed the urge until the few moments of silence had passed. ^_^;

I would like to know from people who'd seen the movie: When the mom and the step dad were hit by the cars, wasn't that really well done? Maybe it just shocked me too badly, but good grief, they made me jump.

I thought the ending could have used a little bit of work...until the movie actually ended. The kid being the 'killer' was a little bit of a stretch, but really really creepy.

Anyway, when it comes right down to it, there were at least three killers inside the guy's mind. The two cons, and the kid.

...and poor John Cusack! After he died...the movie sucked. ;) Just kidding. I thought Amanda Peet did a great job. I really like her work. :)

[Gurney Devries]

Darn you. I didn't think I was going to go see this, so I read part of your first spoiler. Then I remembered that I was actually interested in seeing this movie. :grumble

Edit ~ Just watched the trailer again. Apparently, they mention that in the trailer. So I guess it's not really much of a spoiler.

I've heard good things about it so far, so I think I'll go see it. I noticed it was out when I passed by the theater earlier today, but I didn't realize that it had just come out. Thought it'd been out for a while.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Yeah it is in the trailer, but like you, most people might not remember that part. :) I wish you'd been there, I needed a hand to squeeze the hell out of!

[Charley]

I really like Amanda Peet's work as well. And by work, I mean nipples.

[Lady Vader]

:rolleyes :lol @ Charley

I'm definitely interested in seeing the movie. Might go see it this weekend if I can find someone to go see it with me (I don't think I want to go alone).

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Rie: Don't go alone! :eek

I almost did, but I'm so glad my roommate could get off work in time to go with me, because I'd of been a nervous wreck. This way, we were both nervous wrecks. :p

[ReaperFett]

Yeah, but didnt Blade 2 make you jumpy? :)

[Darth Viscera]

Originally posted by Lounge Lizard
I really like Amanda Peet's work as well. And by work, I mean nipples.

So long as they're not tubular like those of Milla Jovovich. I still can't wrap my mind around that. It's conical or nothing!

[Sean Piett]

Well, I saw it. It was pretty good, though a few things were sort of predictable. I think the stepdad had autism or something- which was a great touch that I enjoyed. I felt really sorry for him throughout the movie.

There were a lot of creepy people, it seemed.

Question: In schitzophrenia, doesn't the original personality remain? I don't think any of the personalitiees had his name(which I forget).

All in all, it was worth the $6.50 my theater charged, but it really didn't appeal to me much.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Answer in the form of another question: What was the name of the little boy? I can't remember what they were calling him. But maybe that was his original personality? After all, if his development halted when he was a child, his personality could still remain as the little boy?

[Gurney Devries]

Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
What was the name of the little boy? I can't remember what they were calling him. But maybe that was his original personality? After all, if his development halted when he was a child, his personality could still remain as the little boy? Timothy.

Just saw it. It wasn't bad. But from what I've been hearing from people, it's pretty overrated. I wish that they kept the bit about them all being aspects of the one guy's personality a secret longer. It completely ruined the tension by revealing that. The whole time, you're trying to figure out what's going on and they kill that tension by explaining everything while there's still 20+ minutes to go. I think that the MPD (schizophrenia is not MPD, btw) should have been the surprise at the end, not the kid being the killer.

Still, in all fairness: That did surprise me a bit. It's not that I was convinced that the kid was dead, but that I had completely forgotten about him. As soon as they showed him at the end, before the flashbacks, I was like "Oh yeah! What did happen to him, anyway?"

Good ending, but could have been infinitely better. This movie had a lot of potential. But on the stairway to greatness, it slipped on a wet step, lost its balance and fell about halfway back down, earning itself a few bruises and cracked ribs in the process.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I am curious the plot of the movie seems similar to Agathe Christie's Ten Little Indians or And then there were none. Some reviews hace compared them, is it similar at all? Or do you think it is just partly based on that novel.

[Arya Ravenwing]

I haven't read the novel.

But c'mon, the ending, with the van crashing at the side of the road and then all that silence...wasn't it tempting to yell WHAT THE HELL!? It was for me. And no, this wasn't all a spoiler, but if I keep typing it under spoiler tags people are going to want to see the movie to see what I'm talking about. Maybe. Ok actually I just have nothing else to do right now. :)

I enjoyed the movie a great deal, but I agree with most of your assesment, Nuppy.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I won't read the spoiler stuff :) But here is the basic premise of the novel. Ten strangers are drawn to this mansion and one by one they are killed by different means. It turns out each is guilty of something, I think they all killed somebody and they are each killed because of it. Is that anything like Identity.

[Arya Ravenwing]

There are ten strangers in Identity and people do die, yes.

Other than that, no. :D

[Mu Satach]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
I am curious the plot of the movie seems similar to Agathe Christie's Ten Little Indians or And then there were none. Some reviews hace compared them, is it similar at all? Or do you think it is just partly based on that novel.

There is a LOT in the movie that is reminescent of Christie's book and one out right mention of it in the flick.

I think perhaps the writer of the screenplay used the same idea but threw the twist that is talked about in the spoilers.

I too wish that the mystery of all the identities being inside the killers mind had been held out a bit longer. Though it was really cool when JC started freaking out at the image of his real face.

And yeah, the car accidents were really well done.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Ok that sounds cool. So its another movie that references that book. I wonder why that book has been done so much with, there are 3 straight movie adaptations of it, and a lot of references to it in other films.

[sirdizzy]

Identity (2003)


Thriller 1 hr. 27 min
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence and language.
Starring: John Cusack, Jake Busey, Rebecca DeMornay, Clea DuVall, Ray Liotta
Directed by: James Mangold

It is a dark and stormy night; a violent thunderstorm soaks a lonely Nevada road flooding the surrounding countryside. A man and his wife and stepchild have a blowout on there van. While the father tries to change the tire, a passing limousine strikes his wife. The occupants of the limousine are an ex-cop driver and a spoiled movie star who does not want to stop and throws a fit about it. The limo driver rushes to a nearby town and motel where he hopes to find a phone to call and ambulance. But the phone lines are down, so he tries to drive to the next town to only find out that the roads are flooded in both directions and there is no way out. Along the way he picks up an ex-prostitute and of newly wed couple. When they arrive back at the motel they are all given rooms. Shortly thereafter a corrections officer shows up with a prisoner transfer and although the motel clerk does not have to give him a room, he does. The limo driver and the officer manage to stitch up the hurt woman and everything looks to be fine. But then all of a sudden murders start to happen and the corrections officer learns that his prisoner has escaped. But the limo driver is not so sure it is the prisoner committing the murders as all the residents of the motel seem to be linked in some odd way. The newly wed bride thinks that they might be on an old Indian burial ground and that may be the reason for all the odd happenings. Through it all they seem to be linked to another story of a physiatrist and a crazed murder, it will be up to the limo driver to try and solve the mystery before they are all killed and reveal the identity of the killer.

Wow, what can be said about this movie, it reminded me a lot of The Six Sense where you needed to see it a second time to solve all the movies little hidden tidbits once you have knowledge of the ending. The movie is like a really good murder mystery book where they throw at you tons of misleads and confusing storylines to keep you off your guard so they can hit you with the surprise ending. I was completely entranced by the movie as I was unsure where it was trying to go and what it was trying to accomplish. I applaud anyone that can solve this movie before the ending but I don’t very many people will. The movie is a thrill ride that just takes you on a roller coaster of intrigue and mysteries that will completely spell bound and entertain you. I have to admit that I was not too thrilled about this movie from the trailers as it did not seem that interesting but I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with a very well done movie that had you speechless and totally blow away by the final scene, the theatre literally let out a gasp of “what the” when the movie ended. If you want a good thriller and murder mystery this is the movie for you, highly recommended.
4 stars out of 5

[Mu Satach]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
Ok that sounds cool. So its another movie that references that book. I wonder why that book has been done so much with, there are 3 straight movie adaptations of it, and a lot of references to it in other films.

Have you ever read it? It's one of my favorite murder mystery books.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Okay I finally saw it and man it was a twisted movie, in a good way
I did like that whole tension of what is going on here, I knew it was something weird when that convict played by Busey couldn't escape I knew there was something going on. Also about the personalities. Was the original personality the guy that was in the freezer??? He sure looked like him, we never got his name so I wondered maybe the original personality had died or whatever you consider it, long ago. Also about the kid, I was a little surpirse because like Gurney I had forgotten about him. I thought the killer was Ray Liotta but than when he died I knew it wasn't over because I heard there was a surprise coming so I was trying to figure out which ones of the ones who we thought were dead was the killer, and then when I saw the kid it all made sense to me. Overall a great movie. One thing I watched the theatrical version on the DVD but there is an extended version and I had heard about an alterate ending is that on there? Unless it was somewhere else on the Disk I didn't have time to go through it. Does anybody know what the alternate ending is?

[jjwr]

We rented it over this past weekend. I recalled hearing something about it so we gave it a shot. I'm not a big fan of horror/thrillers/etc, mainly cause I find them boring but this one was great. Very suspensefull and well done.

After the mother died I had a pretty good idea it was the kid who was the killer. Or at least somehow involved. Course we didn't know they were all characters in the guys mind at that point so a few were hard to explain like Busey's & DeMornay's deaths by a young child.

The whole initial car scene when he takes a opportune step back, it doesn't seem telling at the time but when he does the same thing with the step father it makes you wonder. After that he goes and visits his mother, comes out and then Liotta finds her dead. Well he peeks his head in and starts to cry but he was in there a minute before and said nothing. Thats what got me thinking about his Mom & Step Dad in the first place. Course it all changed once the 10 Personalities were revealed and I thought that couldn't be it, then it was....d'oh! Peet & Cusak were great, Cusak is just awesome, I've always liked him.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Cusak is going to marry me I KNOW IT.

pleeeese pleeeese ^_^;

I'm really excited to see his newest movie, Runaway Jury. :D:thumbup

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah Runway Jury looks like a great movie and what a cast, Cusak, Hackman, and Hoffman should be a great movie (the book I understand is one of Grisham's best)

[CMJ]

Rented it last night. I really dug it overall - really intelligent and well acted. I only had a few quibles with it, but they weren't that important.

[Mu Satach]

Me and a bunch of friends were talking about Adaptation and laughing about the plots of "3" and Identiy the other day and inadvertantly spoiled Identity for one.

"You Rats! You just ruined Identity for me!"

We all hung our heads in shame... ;)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

:lol when I saw Adaptation, that's exactly what I thought. "This sounds familiar..." :p

[Ardath Bey]

I have just seen Identity tonight. It was alright and the twists in it were rather old hat. Well acted though.


But if you love movies of a similar vein, check out Roman Polanski's horror movie -- Repulsion. This masterful psychological film should very well rank in my top fifteen or ten horror flix of all time (edit time). A tad slow in the beginning yet remains compelling and revealing, like witnessing the disjointed reality of Kara (Catherine Deneuve), the main character whom suffers from sexual repulsion.

Better than Hitchcock's Psycho! No kidding! Watch Repulsion!

BTW, has anybody here seen this movie yet?

(Apologize for the movie blurb but the thread offered an opportunity to drop another high recommendation on you all.)