By Jovita McLeod
Staff Writer
Thunder is heard and even before the Columbia logo has faded away a man’s voice begins, “As I was going up the stairs, I met a man who wasn’t there. He wasn’t there again today. I wish, I wish he’d go away.”
As far as I am concerned the DVD “Identity,” released Sept. 2, is off to a good start.
The man speaking these lines is the character Malcolm Rivers (Pruitt Taylor Vince), a convicted murderer who is being transferred to a hearing the night before his execution.
The scene is almost overshadowed by the music and the rain, the latter of which will play an integral role in the plot of the film.
Skip to an isolated motel. Trapped there by flooded roads are a middle-aged man (John C. McGinley) traveling with his wife and son, a dried up actress (Rebecca De Mornay) and her limo driver (John Cusack), a prostitute (Amanda Peet), a cop (Ray Liotta), a newlywed couple, one convict and a hotel owner (sorry, no partridge in a pear tree).
The film centers on these characters in the motel who are inexplicably, but obviously meaningfully, trapped together.
Quickly the characters are being killed off and the survivors and audience attempt to figure “who dunnit,” and more importantly, why.
This is a mystery. If you are a real sleuth ignore the bloody bodies and focus on the details, because the clues are there. But beware of the rain, which is so ever-present in the film that it is almost hypnotic.
The special features in this DVD include English and French audio and subtitles and full-screen or widescreen options (but you’ll only find the extended version and alternate ending on the widescreen).
There are also a theatrical trailer, storyboard comparisons, a few deleted scenes and a stars-on-the-set inside look.
One great feature for anyone interested in directing is the option to watch the entire film with commentary by John Mangold, the director. I did this and it was incredibly interesting and educational. If you are a film student this is one of the great perks of DVDs so take advantage of it.
This film was fairly scary and gory. More than just horrific though, it is also captivating.
The special effects are realistic, the script is not bad, the cinematography is quite good, the actors worked honestly off of one another and the rain brought a type of reality that, all combined together, caused a very surreal feeling throughout.
Perhaps of more importance for a horror/suspense film is that “Identity” has the ability to keep an audience on the edge of their seats.
But it’s not nearly as gory as most modern horror films. “Identity” is really more of a mystery thriller. In the words of John Cusack, the film is a “sophisticated adult thriller.”
Although I enjoyed the film as a whole, I thought the ending was a bit contrived. However, I did really like the alternate ending. Unlike alternate endings of many other movies, it doesn’t drastically change the conclusion. But it does explain the conclusion better visually.
It has been trivially noted that several endings were filmed so that the real conclusion would be a mystery. With so many endings, too bad Mangold chose the wrong one.
Otherwise this is a great movie, worthy of the attention of film students and horror-movie lovers alike. And at $12 for a used copy at Amazon.com, “Identity” is a worthwhile addition to any DVD collection. After all, that’s about the price you’ll pay for renting it at Blockbuster for 2 days and forgetting to return it!
September 11, 2003