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Identity

Identity

Mystery · Thriller · 2003

Complete strangers stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers thin out, the travelers begin to turn on each other, as each tries to figure out who the killer is.

Movie details

Identity

“The secret lies within.”

2003 Mystery · Thriller 1h 30m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

Complete strangers stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers thin out, the travelers begin to turn on each other, as each tries to figure out who the killer is.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Identity?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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A private investigator helps a former flame solve the murder of her wealthy grandfather, who lived in a sprawling estate surrounded by his idiosyncratic family.

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Mort Rainey, a writer just emerging from a painful divorce with his ex-wife, is stalked at his remote lake house by a psychotic stranger and would-be scribe who claims Rainey swiped his best story idea. But as Rainey endeavors to prove his innocence, he begins to question his own sanity.

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Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983

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Nature of the Beast

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Two men, both hiding a deadly secret, are on a murderous rampage through the desert.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

James Mangold

Written by

Michael Cooney

John Cusack

John Cusack

Ed

Ray Liotta

Ray Liotta

Rhodes

Amanda Peet

Amanda Peet

Paris

John Hawkes

John Hawkes

Larry

Alfred Molina

Alfred Molina

Doctor

Clea DuVall

Clea DuVall

Ginny

John C. McGinley

John C. McGinley

George

Court is in session

Put Identity on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.