Identity Saves Itself by Using Smarts

Rating: Null/10 (26 April 2003)

When I walked into 'Identity,' I was skeptic. It's been a while since I've seen a clever suspense film that has worked. 'Identity' was just that and nothing more: a clever suspense film that worked.
The movie involves ten strangers stranded at a motel, who start to get killed one by one. Sort of a take on Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians," which one of the characters acknowledges in the movie, this movie works because it's a suspenseful whodunit, rather than a mindless gorefest.

The reasons why the film manages to salvage itself from a potentially ridiculous plot, are the director/writer relationship and the actors. Mangold works well with Cooney, (it doesn't hurt that he worked on the script as well) never belittling the material on page to a mere slasher flick. The scariest moments are the silences and the shadows, rather than countless things jumping out at the characters.
The twist in the movie (which I will not, of course, give away) is believable because the writers use a loophole which leaves no room for question or scrutiny. But mainly, it works because of the performances of the actors, mainly John Cusack and Amanda Peet. Cusack brings to life a complexity and realnees to his character that would have otherwise been cheesy had it been portrayed by a lesser actor. The major connection of these people at the motel seems a bit absurd if told secondhand, or on page; but because the actors believe in their characters, the audience, at the moment, does as well.
I'm still not sure about the ending. It seemed a bit contrived in order to add even more 'shock' value for the audience. But if that's the direction the writer and director decided to go, since the rest of the movie pulled me along up until the end, killing my skepticism along with the characters, I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.