An Awesome Thriller

Rating: 9/10 (28 May 2010)

Whatever I say about this movie regarding the plot will give it away. Still, I will try to explain by trying not to write spoilers. When the twist comes around in the film, you'll eventually figure out the killer if you have seen films like Se7en or Fight Club. This is a notch below those perfections, but still makes an extremely intelligent and engrossing watch. John Cusack is one of my favourite actors and he is extremely talented. He and Amanda Peet were the reasons I decided to check out this movie. Apart from 2012, they have never let me down. This movie is better than most of the films in its genre.
Ten strangers with secrets are brought together in a savage rainstorm: A limo driver, Ed (John Cusack), an 80's TV star, Caroline Suzanna (Rebecca DeMornay), a cop, Rhodes (Ray Liotta) who is transporting a killer, Robert Maine (Jake Busey), a call girl, Paris (Amanda Peet), a pair of newlyweds (Clea DuVall & William Lee Scott) & a family in crisis (John.C.McGinley, Leila Kenzle, Bret Loehr), all take shelter at a desolate motel run by a nervous night manager, Larry (John Hawkes) in the Nevada desert. Their relief in finding shelter is quickly replaced with fear as the ten travelers begin to die, one by one. They soon realize that, if they are to survive, they'll have to uncover the secret that has brought them all together. Parallel to this story, there is also the hearing of a murderer who has already been sentenced to death.
What if every choice we make was already made for us? What if there really were no coincidences in life & our destinies were already predetermined? I will not give anything away and spoil this for you. The film is only 80 minutes and I thought it was too short. The director, James Mangold could have extended the runtime more. I know it is petty reason when the movie is already as brilliant as it is, but that would have satisfied me more. Nobody in this film look like stars acting in a movie. All of them fit into their character perfectly. The standout comes from Ray Liotta and John Cusack.
****Spoiler Alert**** Though I figured out the killer in the beginning, the plot made it impossible for that character to be the killer. So, I thought it must be Amanda Peet or Ray Liotta's character. But, that turned out to be a dud and the director made my first guess the killer. Anyway, its an awesome film. Please don't miss it and don't give away anything to others who haven't watched it yet.
9/10