Identity (film)

Identity
Identity film poster
Directed by	James Mangold
Produced by	Cathy Konrad
Written by	Michael Cooney
Starring	John Cusack Ray Liotta Amanda Peet Alfred Molina Clea DuVall Rebecca De Mornay John Hawkes John C. McGinley William Lee Scott Jake Busey Pruitt Taylor Vince Bret Loehr
Music by	Alan Silvestri
Cinematography	Phedon Papamichael Jr.
Editing by	David Brenner
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	April 25, 2003
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$28,000,000
Box office	$90,259,536

Identity is a 2003 American psychological horror-mystery film, directed by James Mangold and written by Michael Cooney. The film stars John Cusack, Ray Liotta, John C. McGinley and Amanda Peet. The plot was inspired by Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None.

Plot

Malcolm Rivers (Pruitt Taylor Vince) is awaiting execution for several vicious murders that took place at a motel. His psychiatrist, Doctor Mallick (Alfred Molina), has discovered his journal that may explain why he really committed the murders. With this late evidence brought forth, a new hearing takes place.

A group of 10 strangers find themselves stranded in the middle of a storm in a remote motel, run by manager Larry Washington (John Hawkes). The 10 strangers are a limo driver, Ed Dakota (John Cusack); an 80's movie star, Caroline Suzanne (Rebecca De Mornay); a cop, Officer Rhodes (Ray Liotta), who is transporting a serial killer, Robert Maine (Jake Busey); a prostitute, Paris Nevada (Amanda Peet); a pair of newlyweds, Lou (William Lee Scott) and Ginny (Clea DuVall) Isiana; and a family in crisis, George (John C. McGinley), Alice (Leila Kenzle) and Timmy (Bret Loehr) York. The group prepares to spend the night; however, they quickly find that there is an unknown murderer present, killing off each of the guests. Caroline is the first to be killed. Ed thinks that Maine killed her and when they check the convict, they discover he has escaped.

All the others become worried, and Ginny runs to her room. Her husband Lou chases after her but is also murdered. Ed and Rhodes find the con, knock him out, and put Larry on duty guarding him. However, he is later found dead. Paris discovers a dead body in Larry's freezer. Larry attempts to escape in his truck, claiming he did not kill anybody. He then accidentally runs over George, killing him. The survivors tie up Larry, who tells them his story. The others believe that he really did not kill anyone. Ginny and Timmy both die when their car blows up, but their bodies are nowhere to be seen. The remaining four discover that all the bodies have disappeared and that all 10 share the same birthday. Paris also discovers that Rhodes is a convict as well. Rhodes attempts to kill her, but she is saved by Larry, who in turn is shot dead by Rhodes.

At the hearing, the contents of Malcolm's journal are revealed, indicating the prisoner suffers from an extreme case of dissociative identity disorder, harboring 10 distinct personalities. Mallick is able to bring forth one of Malcolm's personalities, Ed, revealing that the events at the motel are occurring inside Malcolm's mind, each personality being a distinct person. Mallick informs "Ed" that he must eliminate the hostile personality in order to prevent Malcolm from being executed. In the motel setting, Ed believes that Rhodes is the murderer, and sacrifices himself to kill Rhodes, leaving only Paris alive. When Mallick demonstrates that the homicidal personality is dead, the Judge decides to place Malcolm in a mental institution under Mallick's care.

As Malcolm is driven along with Mallick to the institution, in Malcolm's mind, Paris has driven away from the motel to her hometown, Frostproof, Florida. As she tends an orange grove, she discovers the Room 1 motel key, and finds Timmy behind her. Timmy, the true homicidal personality, had orchestrated all the deaths at the motel, and made it appear that he had been killed as well; he finishes his task by killing Paris. Now driven only by Timmy, Malcolm strangles Mallick, and the van runs off the side of the road.

Cast

The Alter characters

• Amanda Peet as Paris Nevada, a Las Vegas prostitute.
• John Cusack as Edward "Ed" Dakota, a limousine driver and a former L.A. police officer.
• Ray Liotta as Samuel Rhodes, a convict impersonating a police officer.
• John Hawkes as Larry Washington, the motel owner.
• Clea DuVall as Ginny Isiana (née Virginia), a superstitious newlywed.
• Leila Kenzle as Alice York, a wife and mother who is injured in a car accident.
• John C. McGinley as George York, Alice's husband and Timmy's stepfather.
• Bret Loehr as Timothy "Timmy" York, Alice's son and George's stepson.
• Jake Busey as Robert Maine, Rhodes' partner in crime, acting as his prisoner.
• William Lee Scott as Lou Isiana, Ginny's husband.
• Rebecca De Mornay as Caroline Suzanne, an 80's Hollywood TV actress that is chauffeured by Ed.

Other cast

• Alfred Molina as Dr. Mallick, a psychologist
• Pruitt Taylor Vince as Malcolm Rivers, a convicted serial killer
• Carmen Argenziano as Marty, the defense lawyer
• Marshall Bell as the district attorney
• Matt Letscher as the assistant district attorney
• Holmes Osborne as Judge Taylor
• Frederick Coffin as Detective Varole
• Joe Hart as Bailiff Jenkins
• Michael Hirsch as the naked businessman
• Terence Bernie Hines as a bailiff
• Stuart M. Besser as Larry, the real motel owner

Production

The plot draws from a basic structure first popularized be the Agatha Christie novel "And Then There Were None". In the novel 10 strangers arrive at an isolated location. However due to various details it is not an adaptation. All shooting was undertaken in the United States. With some in Lancaster, California and other places in Los Angeles County the majority was shot on a sound stage at Sony Studios in Culver City.

Reception

The film has a rating of 62% on Rotten Tomatoes out of 165 reviews. It has scored 64 (generally favorable reviews) out of 100 on Metacritic.

The movie was a box office success as it grossed over $90 Million worldwide on a $30 million dollar budget.

External links

• Official website
• Identity at the Internet Movie Database
• Identity at Box Office Mojo