Identity (2003)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

James Mangold

Writer (WGA):

Michael Cooney (written by)

Release Date:

25 April 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The secret lies within.

Plot:

Stranded at a desolate Nevada motel during a nasty rainstorm, ten strangers become acquainted with each other when they realize that they're being killed off one by one.

Plot Keywords:

Motel | Nevada | Rainstorm | Murder | Psychiatrist

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

John Cusack	...	Ed
Ray Liotta	...	Rhodes
Amanda Peet	...	Paris
John Hawkes	...	Larry
Alfred Molina	...	Dr. Malick
Clea DuVall	...	Ginny
John C. McGinley	...	George York
William Lee Scott	...	Lou
Jake Busey	...	Robert Maine
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Malcolm Rivers
Rebecca De Mornay	...	Caroline Suzanne (as Rebecca DeMornay)
Carmen Argenziano	...	Defense Lawyer
Marshall Bell	...	District Attorney
Leila Kenzle	...	Alice York
Matt Letscher	...	Assistant District Attorney
Bret Loehr	...	Timmy York
Holmes Osborne	...	Judge Taylor
Frederick Coffin	...	Detective Varole
Joe Hart	...	Bailiff Jenkins
Michael Hirsch	...	Naked Businessman
Terence Bernie Hines	...	Bailiff
Stuart M. Besser	...	Frozen Body (as Stuart Besser)

Directed by
James Mangold

Writing credits (WGA)
Michael Cooney		(written by)

Produced by
Stuart M. Besser	....	executive producer (as Stuart Besser)
Dixie J. Capp	....	associate producer
Cathy Konrad	....	producer

Original Music by
Alan Silvestri

Cinematography by
Phedon Papamichael

Film Editing by
David Brenner

Casting by
Lisa Beach
Sarah Katzman

Production Design by
Mark Friedberg

Art Direction by
Jess Gonchor

Set Decoration by
Cindy Carr

Costume Design by
Arianne Phillips

Makeup Department
Catherine Childers	....	hair stylist
Scott H. Eddo	....	makeup department head
Jane Galli	....	makeup department head
Jake Garber	....	special makeup effects artist
Jonathan Hanousek	....	hair stylist supervisor
Katharine Kremp	....	hair stylist: Mr. Liotta
Katharine Kremp	....	key hair stylist
Robert Kurtzman	....	special makeup effects supervisor
Judy Lovell	....	key makeup artist
Gregory Nicotero	....	special makeup effects supervisor
Nanci Cascio	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
John Anthony	....	production supervisor
Stuart M. Besser	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Rick Avery	....	second unit director
Rosemary C. Cremona	....	second assistant director (as Rosemary Cremona)
Maria Mantia	....	second second assistant director
Nicholas Mastandrea	....	first assistant director (as Nick Mastandrea)

Art Department
Ron Ashmore	....	paint supervisor
Oana Bogdan	....	set designer
Sam Dean	....	welder
Alex DiGerlando	....	art department assistant
Christopher Elledge	....	set dresser
Josh Ian Elliott	....	on-set dresser (as Josh Elliott)
Steve A. Hagberg	....	construction coordinator
Sarah Harwich	....	construction purchaser
Bart C. Hubenthal	....	set dresser
Alan James	....	painter
John Paul 'J.P.' Jones	....	property master
Miguel López-Castillo	....	assistant art director
Michael McCombe	....	greens foreman
Marc Messenger	....	storyboard artist
Chris Nakayama	....	propmaker
Victoria Ruskin	....	set designer
Rick C. Taplin	....	art department assistant
Freddy Waff	....	lead man
Cheree Welsh	....	art department coordinator
Perry E. Ellis	....	set dresser (uncredited)
John P. Goldsmith	....	set designer (uncredited)
Amber Haley	....	set buyer (uncredited)
J. Bryan Holloway	....	sculptor (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jessy Bender	....	sound utility
Joseph Bonn	....	first assistant sound editor
Gary C. Bourgeois	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Gary Bourgeois)
Matthew Dettmann	....	foley artist
John Dunn	....	sound editor
Donald Flick	....	sound editor
Howell Gibbens	....	supervising sound effects editor
Matthew P. Hanson	....	assistant sound editor (as Matthew Hanson)
Gary A. Hecker	....	foley artist
Larry Kemp	....	sound editor
Sean Landeros	....	sound recordist
Howard London	....	adr mixer
James Morioka	....	sound effects editor
Greg Orloff	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ken Strain	....	boom operator
Jim Stuebe	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Ron Bolanowski	....	special effects coordinator
Chiz Hasegawa	....	coordinator: KNB EFX Group
William D. Lee	....	special effects
Ian C. McArthur	....	special effects technician
Matt McDonnell	....	special effects technician
Gregory Nicotero	....	puppeteer
Richard Stutsman	....	special effects foreman

Visual Effects by
David Ebner	....	digital effects supervisor: Computercafe
Julia Frey	....	visual effects producer
Vicki Galloway-Weimer	....	visual effects producer: CafeFX (as Vicki Galloway Weimer)
Anthony Harris	....	digital color timer
Bruce Harris	....	digital compositor
Robert Stromberg	....	visual effects supervisor: Digital Backlot
Patrick Zentis	....	compositing supervisor: Digital Backlot
Jeff Barnes	....	executive producer: Computercafe (uncredited)
Attila Veress	....	film recorder operator (uncredited)

Stunts
Brian Avery	....	utility stunts
Rick Avery	....	stunt coordinator
Tom Harper	....	stunts
Brett A. Jones	....	stunts
Brian Machleit	....	stunts
Caryn Mower	....	stunt double: Leila Kenzle
Eric Norris	....	stunts
Michelle Sebek	....	stunt double
Brian Simpson	....	stunts
Darlene Ava Williams	....	stunt double: Rebecca DeMornay

Camera and Electrical Department
Jeff Andrus	....	grip
Brad Boyer	....	dolly grip: "b" camera
Craig A. Brink	....	rigging gaffer
Eric M. Davis	....	lighting technician
Sean Devine	....	best boy grip
Christopher Franey	....	set lighting technician
Cory Geryak	....	chief lighting technician
Bob Hall	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Ryan Huston	....	electrician
David Luckenbach	....	Steadicam operator
David Luckenbach	....	camera operator
Daniel C. McFadden	....	assistant camera
Andrew Osborne	....	assistant camera
Paul Sanchez	....	camera operator
Philip Shanahan	....	assistant camera
Matthew J. Siegel	....	camera operator: second unit
Dan Squires	....	additional second assistant camera
Larry Sushinski	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Suzanne Tenner	....	still photographer
Brian Woronec	....	lighting technician
David Schmalz	....	video assist operator (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jennifer Bender	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Terry Anderson	....	key costumer
Lorraine Crossman	....	costumer
Carlane Passman	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Sara Cueva	....	apprentice editor
Quincy Z. Gunderson	....	assistant editor
Dale Jones	....	avid technician
Michael McCusker	....	associate editor
Jim Passon	....	color timer
Michael Rafferty	....	assistant editor
David Reale	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Bill Abbott	....	music editor: temp music (as William Abbott)
David Bifano	....	scoring coordinator
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor
Mark Eshelman	....	scoring crew
Kenneth Karman	....	music editor
Jason Lloyd	....	scoring crew
Adam Michalak	....	score recordist
Bill Pearson	....	music engineer
John Rodd	....	orchestral scoring recordist
Dennis S. Sands	....	music scoring mixer
Alan Silvestri	....	conductor
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
Jacqueline Tager	....	assistant music editor
Pat Weber	....	scoring technician
Mark Graham	....	music copyist (uncredited)

Transportation Department
J. Armin Garza II	....	driver: camera car
Dan Marrow	....	transportation coordinator
Pamela Monroe	....	transportation office coordinator
Mark Valdez	....	driver: cast
John Embry	....	driver: cast (uncredited)

Other crew
Benjamin Adams	....	production accountant
Olivier Agostini	....	set production assistant
Ricky Andres	....	production assistant
Bianca Arvin	....	assistant to producer
Barry Barclay	....	assistant production office coordinator
Michael Boretz	....	production secretary
Michele A. Carmel	....	production coordinator
Rupert Cole	....	production assistant
Kyle Cooper	....	title designer
Jason Cox	....	production assistant
Chad Hammel	....	production assistant
Bruce Kaye	....	assistant: Mr. Mangold
Gary Kurashige	....	on-set medic
Aurelie Levy	....	assistant: John Cusack
Andrew Lipschultz	....	unit publicist
Brian MacAslan	....	stand-in
Lindsay McCracken	....	assistant: Mr. Cusack
Jeremy Mullen	....	set production assistant
Nikolette Orlandou	....	production assistant
Jennifer Priebe	....	production assistant
Ned R. Shapiro	....	location manager
Shannon Shea	....	shop foreman
Sheila Waldron	....	script supervisor
Chris Castaldi	....	additional set production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Konrad Pictures

Distributors

• Buena Vista International (2003) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2003) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Italia (2003) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Nordisk Film Distributors (2003) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (2003) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (Spain) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2003) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (2004) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Nelonen (2006) (Finland) (TV)
• RTL Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2004) (Finland) (DVD) (VHS)

Special Effects

• CIS Hollywood (additional visual effects)
• Computer Cafe, The (additional visual effects) (as Computercafe)
• Digital Backlot (visual effects)
• K.N.B. Effects Group (special makeup effects)
• Sony Pictures Imageworks (SPI)

Other Companies

• Central Casting  extras casting
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• FotoKem Laboratory  color timing (as Foto-Kem)
• Imaginary Forces  main and end titles
• Mary Nelson-Fraser & Associates  negative cutting
• Post Logic Studios  digital film mastering
• R!ot  film scanning and recording (as Riot Pictures)
• Rods & Cones  digital opticals
• Sony Pictures Imageworks (SPI)  digital color timing
• Sony Pictures Studios  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

I.D. (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and language.

Runtime:

90 min | USA:91 min (alternate DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18SG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:18A (Manitoba/Ontario) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Iceland:16 | India:A | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38872)

Filming Locations:

City Hall - 200 N. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

There was some location shooting in Lancaster and other places in Los Angeles County, but the majority of the movie was shot on an enormous sound stage at Sony Studios in Culver City (the same studio that once housed the set for the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz (1939)).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The newspapers shown during the opening credits are quite accurate, revealing additional information about the killer's background. In one case, though, two columns show exactly the same text.

Quotes:

Caroline Suzanne: I am not staying here. Are you out of your mind?

Movie Connections:

Features "The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo" (1964)

Soundtrack:

I Want You

Another journey to a serial killer's mind... A mindless popcorn flick

Each Friday night of my teenagehood years passed with watching Horror classics. When the mysterious killer reveals out to be a child of my age or even younger, that had always gotten me into an excitement. Watching "Nightmare on Elm Street" was a proof of mine, saying "-Look, I'm totally grown up, now. I don't afraid of Freddy any more. Huh huh!" , to mum.

Time's changed. Horror genre is strengthened by mindless mysteries and sentimentalism. This new type of horror can't make viewers laugh or have fun any more. If not getting any fun from a horror, why watching it? The plot is solely good for mystery; yet the director chose to make a horror/teen slasher, which happened to be a fallacious deduction. Directing and editing is totally awful. "Identity" is talented director James Mangold's worst movie. From 1995 to 2005, his first decade of industrial movie making experience had caught everybody's attention. The present time is 2009. His latest works "Walk The Line" and "3:10 to Yuma" scored success both on box-office and on film critics. I wish we won't see any disappointment from him any more.

Reminiscent of Agatha Christie's "And There Were None"(1945), Hitchcock's Psycho and Kubrick's idea of mystery at Indian cemetery; there is no such thing as an original idea. The opening scene sparks off a traffic accident profits from each character's view of the accident. No one was guilty. Followed by coincidences 8 adult, 1 child and the runner of the motel got stuck in a deluge. The story telling was as good as 2004's best motion picture winner "Crash". Differently, they never tried to break free from their situation. Instead, they make each other fall into a calamity. After two more coincidences, we learned as a third coincidence that everyone shares the same birthday. 10 people, all of them, have born on the 10th of May. Then Amanda Peet tried to save the situation: "This place used to be an Indian cemetery".

Even before the first half of the movie, it happened to become a comedy by a chain of disasters and coincidences. Thanks to Alan Silvestri, who has composed a good music score. Watching for the reason to learn what's going to happen at the end, has been the key factor that made viewers think this is better than an average movie. Quite frankly, it is not. Film editing is dreadful.

1 out of 10 for editing. 8 out of 10 for acting. When you come to the end, you'll realize that it's not the movie you're watching any more. It's so easy that when a director puts all the different puzzles and mysteries altogether mixing them with some sentimentalism, and when at the end his leading actor says:

"Sorry, I am a paranoiac. I was only dreaming. Nothing really happened. Everything was just a dream."