Identity (2003)
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Ten strangers stranded at a remote Nevada motel during a storm find themselves hunted by an unknown assailant.
The story
During a torrential rainstorm, ten strangers become stranded at a remote Nevada motel. The group includes a variety of individuals, such as a limousine driver, a couple, and a man transporting a convict. As they wait out the storm, they are mysteriously murdered one by one by an unknown assailant. The narrative also weaves in a parallel story involving a serial killer awaiting a verdict at a crucial trial. The film utilizes a reverse chronology structure to introduce events occurring before the characters' arrival, while the mystery of the killer's identity and the true nature of the situation at the motel unfolds.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film follows ten strangers stranded at a remote Nevada motel during a storm, who are murdered one by one. The plot reveals that the characters are actually manifestations of the ten distinct personalities of a serial killer named Malcolm Rivers, who is undergoing a psychological experiment. The experiment, led by Dr. Malick, intended to bring these personalities together. At the motel, the characters discover they share the same birthday and are named after U.S. states. The 'true' killer is revealed to be the persona of Timmy, who orchestrated the deaths and faked his own. In the parallel trial, it is revealed that the experiment was successful, and Malcolm's execution is stayed. In the final scene, Timmy takes over fully, kills the others, and is eventually confronted by the reality of the situation.
- First release year
- 2003
- Runtime (minutes)
- 90
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- James Mangold
- Writers
- Michael Cooney · writer
- Cast and characters
- John Cusack · Ed Dakota; Ray Liotta · Robert Maine; Amanda Peet · Caroline Suzanne; Alfred Molina · Larry Washington; Clea DuVall · Ginny Isiana; William Lee Scott · George York; Rebecca De Mornay · Alice; Jake Busey · Timmy; John C. McGinley · Rhodes; Pruitt Taylor Vince · Malcolm Rivers
- Genres
- psychological slasher; horror; mystery; psychological thriller
- Themes
- identity; dissociative identity disorder; multiplicity of self
- Tone and mood
- claustrophobic; suspenseful
- Setting
- A remote motel in the Nevada desert during a rainstorm.
- Premise and plot tags
- whodunit; serial killer; mystery; non-linear narrative
- Source material / true-story basis
- And Then There Were None
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics and was described as a highly original and cleverly constructed thriller, though some critics found the final twist to be a significant shift in tone.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 63% · scale: percentage · review count: 168; Metacritic · score: 64 · scale: 100 · review count: 34
- Production trivia
- The screenplay was inspired by Agatha Christie's 1939 whodunit And Then There Were None.; The film was a copycat remake of a 2005 Indian film.; The score was originally intended to be by Angelo Badalamenti.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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