| Posted by: SummerTime7665 at April 28, 2003, 11:10 pm | | Topic: Reviews: Identity Forum: JoBlo | | I'm not quite sure what to say about this movie. I was looking forward to this movie more than any other movie this year and since Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" is one of my favorite books with one of the best plots ever, I expected that, since this movie looked to be similar, this would be my new favorite movie. It wasn't what I thought it would be...but was that a bad thing? I dunno....here goes... PLOT: Due to strange occurances that only fate could have put together, 10 strangers are stranded at a run down motel in Las Vegas during a crazy storm. All the characters seem to have a secret to hide and they regard all the others with suspicion. Soon enough, they begin to be killed off, in true horror movie fashion. So they assume that the killer must be one of them...who else could it be? Nothing and no one is what or who they seem to be...and that's where things went downhill for me. ACTING: Amanda Peet is funny and always easy to watch. She does a good turn as a bitter prostitute, with dreams of a better life. Ray Liotta is creepy and emanates a "don't-screw-with-me" attitude. Jake Busey is out of place in this movie and annoyed the heck out of me. I enjoyed ***SPOILER***seeing the baseball bat shoved down his throat***END SPOILER***. Clea Duvall's main job was to scream and panic and she did it well. I really liked her in one of my favorite movies "The Faculty". The guy who plays her husband plays a jerk, but he was quite handsome and I felt sorry when he died. The kid in the movie was okay, I guess. He was alright, but kinda overdid it at the end. The wife was really sweet and I would've liked to know more about her relationship with her husband. Which brings me to my favorite actors of the film. Without a doubt, the stars of this film are John C. McGinley and John Cusack. I'm a big fan of John C. McGinley, who is hilarious as the total jerk on Scrubs. Here, he plays a vulnerable, loving husband in father, who's death was the only one I felt really sad for. My friend who was at the movie with me was sobbing (I mean crying so hard it was silent) when he died. He impressed me by playing a character that is the extreme opposite of his role on Scrubs. He was a bright light in a dark movie. John Cusack is one of my favorite actors. He is a natural actor and in every movie he's in, no matter how good or bad it is, he is awesome! He is magnetic on the screen and I always wanted him to be in every scene possible. He can do romantic comedy, dark comedy, drama, and now horror. He rocks! Oh, and the Larry guy was funny, but nothing outstanding. The murder convict in the "flashbacks" was creepy (those eyes!!!) but annoying for some reason. REVIEW: The movie had me riveted for the first 2/3 of the movie. From the first scenes of the movie, I was paying close and careful attention, seeing if I could figure out the twist. I wanted to see if I knew who the killer was. However, while many other reviews will mislead you, the twist has nothing to do with who the killer is. In fact, it was just a strange flip from horror movie to slasher movie without warning. The only thing it succeeded in doing was irritating me for investing my mind and time with the film. I loved the storytelling style, slightly reminiscent of "Memento" with a backwards to forward format in the beginning. I didn't mind the characters being killed off one by one, because it was done in a creepy, stylish manner. The scariest parts for me was noticing facing illuminated at the windows when lightning flashes and seeing strange shadows walk past the windows that are not necessarily pointed out by loud horror movie chords. If you watch the background, you may figure out who the killer is fairly quickly. I'll give you a hint: it's the character that doesn't fit in...doesn't really seem necessary. That's all I'll say. However, I think the movie should have simply left it with the whodunit, rather than moving into, what I think was, an unnecessary move into a mental plotline. I would have been surprised enough about the killer as it was. I wasn't quite happy with who the killer was, though. It was disturbing and a little unexplained and unrealistic. I left, saying to myself, "Yeah, right...". So I have mixed emotions about this movie. When some of the other twists besides the two original surprises were revealed, plot holes emerged in my mind--well, after the movie was over. It makes me sad to have to lower this movie's review so significantly because of it's twist, especially considering how much I enjoyed the first 2/3. They had me captivated until the whole relationship between their birthdays and their names (which I'm surprised I never thought of during the movie...duh!). I don't like knowing that the 2/3 of the movie I enjoyed don't really matter and don't really exist. Don't worry, I'm not spoiling it for you. There's no way you'll be able to guess the "twist"...more like a change of genre...in the movie. The movie did scare the crap out of me on many counts during the movie. The scariest scene for me was when Clea Duvall locked herself in the bathroom, not knowing that her husband was being butchered outside the door. All the shadows and flashes of faces and bodies were chilling in a subtle way. I admire "Identity" for attempting something original, twisty and full of surprises. Even the conventional horror movie scenes and kills (why do they all split up and leave the room again? STUPID!!!) were done in an original and stylish...uh...style. I'd say I'd reccomend it, considering it's better than most movies out there right now and it's excellent as a horror movie. The only part that faltered for me was it's final act, but even that can't change that it was a good attempt. My disappointment could also be due to how much I was looking forward to this--I watched every trailer on TV (I have TIVO, so I'd stop ff), I read every review and article I could find, I tried to figure what a possible twist could be for the film...etc. I had too high of expectations. Anyways, I'm babbling. Over all, it's thumbs up...for the reasons above, I'd give this film a: 6.5/10 C+ Great cast, good acting, good first act, scared the crap out of me, original set design, surprise solution. Bad ending, bad genre change, makes you feel stupid and irritated. |
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