Original

Rating: Null/10 (5 May 2010)

Identity is a thriller set at an isolated motel in rural Nevada during an unrelenting rainstorm. With all roads washed out and all forms of communication dead, a group of people become stranded at the motel along with the shifty manager (John Hawkes). Among the stranded are Ed (John Cusack), a former cop turned limo driver; Caroline (Rebecca De Mornay), a self-absorbed actress; Paris (Amanda Peet), a prostitute attempting to escape her profession; Rhodes (Ray Liotta), a cop transporting a prisoner (Jake Busey); Lou (William Lee Scott) and Ginny (Clea DuVall), bickering newlyweds; and George (John McGinley) and Alice (Leila Kenzle), a married couple traveling with their young son. Soon the waterlogged lodgers start dying in mysterious--and brutal--ways, and the increasingly dwindling number of survivors must discover the killer to prevent their own demises.
The initial formula for this film seems very cliché and something we've seen a thousand times before. However, Identity has a very clever and bold twist. Something very unexpected that completely turns the film around and makes it one of the most original thrillers I have seen in a long time. It's hard to talk about it without spoiling the film but I'll say this, the viewers that "stick" trough Identity will be rewarded with something much more interesting and intriguing then the usual "we're getting murdered one by one"-kind of thriller. Also the entire cast did a good job with perhaps Amanda Peet standing out. Overall, a very original little thriller and a breath of fresh air from an overdone genre.
6.5/10