”
Identity,
”
the new film by James Mangold, is a good, strong murder mystery
thriller that definitely delivers the goods with regard to keeping
the audience on the edge of its seat. The film has a phenomenal
cast, led by John Cusack, who fares best as the film’s protagonist,
a limousine driver who accidentally sideswipes a woman during a
horrifying storm in the film’s first scene.
“Identity,” the new film by James Mangold, is a good, strong murder mystery thriller that definitely delivers the goods with regard to keeping the audience on the edge of its seat. The film has a phenomenal cast, led by John Cusack, who fares best as the film’s protagonist, a limousine driver who accidentally sideswipes a woman during a horrifying storm in the film’s first scene.
John C. McGinley plays George York, the injured woman’s husband, who was trying to change a tire on the side of the road when his wife (Leila Kenzie) gets hit by the limousine. It is obvious that the family, along with their son (Bret Loehr) and the limousine passengers, all need a place to stay for the night. Leave it to Ed (Cusack), the limousine driver, to suggest a motel that is nearby.
The motel only has about a dozen guests staying there, but, like magic, they they start dropping like flies, the victims of violent murder. Who’s the killer, and why would he or she have a motive to commit such crimes? In terrific Agatha Christie style, we try to figure which of the guests is guilty.
But the film is not so easy to figure out, as we are presented with a parallel story of a local man (Pruitt Taylor Vince) who has just been convicted of a series of other murders in the area and is currently facing his last death row appeal.
Their stories will eventually come together and reveal the film’s resolution, but for the majority of the film we’re stuck in the shoddy hotel with its guests, who are going crazy trying to stay alive as news of the killings spread.
The guests at the motel include a narcissistic movie star (Rebecca DeMornay) who never wanted to stop in the first place, a police officer (Ray Liotta), a convict in chains (Jake Busey) and a young couple who just got married for reasons we can’t understand because they’re always fighting. Running the joint is the scary and slightly neurotic creepy manager, played with relish by John Hawkes.
There is a creepy mystery in the murders because some of them are so weird and grotesque that it feels as though a human being could not have possibly committed them. It’s a fun mystery to try to figure out, and the film’s resolution should be surprising for all, and it’s completely logical.
The violence in the film is sometimes tough to take, and the movie earns its hard R rating for the gore. But the director never stays on one image for a long time, keeping up the mysterious elements of the story by keeping us on a string and just revealing a little bit of the mystery, piece-by-piece. Every scene is filled with surprising moments, and the film’s original take on the horror genre that’s usually so overstuffed with clichés is refreshing.
The film’s production design also is compelling and lends itself to the sense of impending dread that we need to feel if the movie is going to be a fun horror ride. The storm, roads and motel convey a morbid, macabre environment where darkness and evil reigns.
“Identity” is a strong thriller that has an intelligent script as well as extremely competent work from the actors involved. It’s great to see Cusack back doing quality work after his miserable work in his last film, the little-seen and highly lamentable “Max.”
IDENTITY. Directed by James Mangold. Written by Michael Cooney. With John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina, Clea Duvall, Rebecca DeMornay, John C. McGinley, John Hawkes, Lee Scott and Jake Busey. Rated R (extreme violence and strong language, no sex here), 90 minutes. Now playing at Bay Area theaters.
