Identity

A deathbed confession in order to persuade the courts to stay an execution in exchange for the insanity plea is taken from a dangerous man. In another place, during a torrential downpour several strangers arrive at a remote hotel. A former cop turned limo driver (John Cusack), a prostitute (Amanda Peet,) an actress (Rebecca DeMornay.) a couple with their young son, a newlywed couple (Clea Duvall and Sean William Scott) and a correctional officer (Ray Liotta) transporting a murderer. Each arrive seeking shelter from the storm and they don't come alone, each comes with history and secrets to keep. Each direction on the road is flooded, so there's no exit. And one by one, people begin to die.

If Hitchcock had shot Psycho in color, using the cameras used on this film, it would look like this one. The hotel set is brilliant, the noir colors and the vintage decor and overall neglected state of repair adds to the sinister drama unfolding on screen. It's definitely a place I'd never want to stay during any type of weather. The costumes are not elaborate leaving the actors to do their parts mostly on their own. Bravo to the art department!!

Each person has reason and opportunity to kill, and just when I thought I'd figured out who's doing the killing, it's wrong. As each person dies, eventually the bodies disappear, too. It's a classic case of "um, what?" So it becomes clear, that this is a alternate reality; perfect twist!!

The story raises an interesting question, if a killer suffers from multiple personality disorder and one of his personalities kills, is the body responsible? As Malcolm (Pruitt Taylor Vince) ticks down each personality until he's left with one personality only; his demons are exorcised...all but one.

In the end, the final stage was not big, bad and ugly. However, the package was performed well by the players, regardless. The perfect twist is done well at the beginning of the third act, but the ending lacked the punch necessary for the knock out. It failed to gut or release me emotionally. The catharsis wasn't there. As for the characters, the sympathy necessary to connect to them felt absent. A tight plot must have personality, this one turned out to be like a superficial friend you call when you're bored. Also, the transitions from the present to the hotel weren't smooth. More development of characters and more time spent on plot could have helped me fall more deeply in love with this story.

****

In: Clea Duvall

Out: John Cusack

Coming Soon: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil