Review of Identity (2003) by Lindsay I — 27 Dec 2011

Identity is a very slick and well made thriller that has a few horror elements to it. The story is intriguing and multi-layered, but is well layed out and easy to follow. The moves briskly, and although there are some slower points near the middle, it nevers gets to be boring.

While the idea of the story at it's core is not original, it's very similar to Ten Little Indians and that story even gets mentioned in the film, the execution of that concept is fairly fresh, even capped off with a somewhat unexpected ending that most will probably write off as unbelieveable.

However, in the context of the story as a whole, I think it works. The cast is also great, populated mostly by recognizeable faces, all of whom give their characters life and credibilty. One thing that did bother me to a degree was the constant twisting and turning of the story.

Just when you think you have a bead on something or someone, something happens or a tidbit of information is revealed to change what you thought you knew. I do enjoy this to some extent, but I found it a little too much here.

Another potential issue is the ending, which to me works when you have an understanding of what the story is all about, but when the flashbacks pop up explaining the ending, it feels unrealistic that things happened the way they did.

All in all, a very enjoyable movie and worth watching if you love trying to figure things out before they happen. This one will keep your mind working for 90 minutes. Just pay attention as the film progresses and be willing to suspend a little disbelief and you'll enjoy this one.