5/5 Make me No. 340!
  by Judy K. Polhemus (LA)
Here is a film--the term "movie" is not good enough for this product--"Identity," which will have 340 reviews after I hit the "Publish" button and I had not heard of it until I picked it up from the Sale bin at a local wholesale giant. This is film making at its best.

Oh, 2003, the year the film came out--also, the year of my retirement, my divorce, new house, trip to Ireland, seminary--no wonder I am not familiar with this film. I was too busy with my own identity. "Identity" is such an apt title, too, for this film. Initially, I wondered what its meaning might be, but the story is so taut and full of action and never-let-go-roller-coaster-ride into the psyche that one forgets the title. Too much else to consider.

First, the story opens somewhat in the middle with important information provided. The viewer may not have any idea what this information means until much later, when it's too late (not that the viewer can do anything to help). Director James Mangold proves his title along with great editors in organizing the various plot elements into a sophisticated, cubist fashion. What seems chop, chop is not at all, but becomes a careful rendering of truth and reality, fantasy and the unreal world of horror where the characters walk and breathe. Identity. What is it? Who has it?

Mangold takes the viewer to a brink, but a brink to what? You cannot guess this one. Part of what makes the center hold is the casting. John Cusack creates one of his better roles and convinces us he is this character. Each character and the actor who plays him/her are well-drawn and made flesh by other talented actors-- Amanda Peet, Ray Liotta, Rebecca DeMornay, Alfred Molino.

The setting is a motel. The time is night. All the circumstances are morbid and sinister. Who is this man who runs the motel? What's wrong with him? The movie star, tired and aging, continues her demands for more and better. Her chauffeur who is more than he seems has hit, I should say his vehicle hits the wife of a man changing his tire in a relentless storm that has encircled this group of disgruntled, sad people. After the grotesque murders begin, Peet's character likens their story to "And Then There Were None." I would suggest that these people have found themselves in a twisted Lovecraft horror tale.

For twisted and horror describe the hidden part of the story. There, I've said enough. Identity. What is it? Who has it? When and why?

3/5 thriller with some good twists, but misses the bull's eye
  by Robert J. Crawford (Balmette Talloires, France)
This is a good psycho-thriller, in a wonderful atmosphere of drenching rain. It is fun because the viewer is kept wondering what is going on - there is surprise after surprise, and the mystery keeps this from sinking into a normal slasher film. There are many layers. I was entertained right up to the end and did not guess what was going on, in spite of all the clues and abrupt shifts in point of view. In addition, the cast of actors is very very good, from Cusack to DeMornay and the phenomenal Amanda Peet - they each metamorphose wonderfully as the viewer tries to figure out what is going on.

Unfortunately, this is one of those films based on a single deceptive idea. Once you get it, that's that. It is not one that you can watch over and over for additional detail, much like Mamet's House of Games. Moreover, that idea is not at all subtly used, when I think it could have been, but comes off as a caricature of a far more complex phenomenon. As such, it cannot enter the pantheon of great films I own.

Nonetheless, I would recommend this film. But rent it.

4/5 Looking for something different
  by S. Donovan (Standing Right Behind You)
This is a good movie. I forgot about it. It's definately worth watching. Lots of surprises.

5/5 And then there were none
  by Eric K. Outwater
If you liked the old movie "And then there were none" you should enjoy this. I loved it. It's scary and somewhat violent but not gratuitously so. Great psychological thriller with great actors all around!

5/5 Great
  by Dani Dee (Milwaukee, WI USA)
I received a great movie, in great shape, in a short period of time. Very satisfied with service.