Identity

"The secret lies within."

2003 1h 30m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🍅

63%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 4,580🍅63%Rotten Tomatoes●64Metacritic★7.3IMDB · 285,988

MysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“The secret lies within.”

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Cast

John Cusack
Ed
Ray Liotta
Rhodes
Amanda Peet
Paris
John Hawkes
Larry
Alfred Molina
Doctor
Clea DuVall
Ginny
John C. McGinley
George
William Lee Scott
Lou

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: James Mangold
Writers: Michael Cooney, James Mangold
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 23 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by James Mangold, shot by Phedon Papamichael. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alan Silvestri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Brenner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Cusack and Ray Liotta and Amanda Peet carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The secret lies within.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

James Mangold directs. Phedon Papamichael behind the camera. Alan Silvestri scores. David Brenner cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Made its money back 3.2× over at the box office.
3Released 23 years ago.
4Directed by James Mangold, shot by Phedon Papamichael. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Alan Silvestri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor David Brenner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7John Cusack and Ray Liotta and Amanda Peet carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The secret lies within.".
9IMDB entry: tt0309698 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 25 themes, including "prostitute", "prisoner", "psychopath", "nevada".

The technical file

Cinematography: Phedon Papamichael
Original score: Alan Silvestri
Editing: David Brenner
Production design: Mark Friedberg
Costume design: Arianne Phillips
Makeup / hair: Jonathan Hanousek
VFX supervisor: Robert Stromberg
Sound: Greg Orloff
Stunt coordinator: Rick Avery
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $28,000,000
Box office: $90,259,536
Return: 322% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Identity (2003)
Rotten Tomatoes: 63% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 64/100
IMDB rating: 7.3/10 · 285,988 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 win & 11 nominations total

Also by

James Mangold

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Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-05-03
★ 7/10
His story's so unbelievable, I think it just might be true. Identity is directed by James Mangold and written by Michael Cooney. It stars John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amada Peet, Clea DuVall, Rebecca De Mornay, Alfred Molina, John Hawkes, John C. McGinley, Jake Busey and Pruitt Taylor Vince. Music is by Alan Silvestri and cinematography by Phedon Papamichael Jr. Inspired by Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians, Identity pitches 10 characters trapped at a motel who begin getting killed off one by one... If you are going to do yet another take on Christies superb literary source then at least bring some freshness, so how nice to find that Identity does in fact ironically have its own. Set up is suitably in keeping with murder mystery shenanigans, there’s major flooding and our host of characters are bound to a shabby motel run by a shabby John Hawkes. On the edges of the frame we have another story where multiple killer Malcolm Rivers (the wonderful wobbly eyed P.T. Vince) is under interrogation to test for insanity to stave off his impending execution. Mangold uses flashbacks to put the various characters at the motel, in how they came to be there. There’s a creative ambitiousness about how Mangold constructs the pic that draws you in, which come the finale will either have you satiated or stupefied. The murder sequences are very well put together, with a couple being well ghoulish, and it’s a very impressive cast of actors working their way through the formulaic but fascinatingly cheat free psychological murk. It’s not as smart as it thinks it is but this has enough of an absorbing pull, and no little intelligence, to lift it higher than many other Agatha 10 copies. 7/10
light_michael2019-08-22
★ 9/10
It's one of my favorites, I rate it four stars and a half.
The Movie Mob2022-08-19
★ 7/10
Overall : One of the best plot twists I have ever seen! Identity masterfully surprises and misleads every step of the way. What seems to be a run-of-the-mill slasher flick at a rundown motel on a stormy night is anything but average. With incredibly clever writing, Identity is a wild ride that will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Even if you are a pro at guessing who the killer is or catching plot twists before they happen, you will be shocked again and again by the twists and turns Identity takes. While it isn't a perfect movie, its creativity and rare brilliance make Identity a must-see film.