Identity can be personal, national or false. By false I mean the whole stereotypical view one gets from institutions like the media.
Think about gendered roles of stereotypes, the meaning of image, how powerful is that?
Movies and television adverts reinforce dominant ideologies and stereotypes aid this. Think of a western movie, the woman was always situated within the home looking out from a window across the desert. Consider the woman in an advert, washing, cleaning, looking after her children and man, eternally the mother.
Identity and identification are not stable; they are constantly engaged in a hegemonic battle between the forces in social structures.
Cast and crew: "Ed" - John Cusack "Det. Rhodes" - Ray Liotta "Paris" - Amanda Peet "Larry" - John Hawkes "Ginny" - Clea DuVall "Caroline" - Rebecca De Mornay "George" - John C. McGinley "Robert" - Jake Busey "Alice" - Leila Kenzle "Lou" - William Lee Scott "Doctor" - Alfred Molina "Malcom" - Pruitt Taylor Vince "Timmy" - Bret Loehr "Judge" - Holmes Osborne "Det. Varole" - Frederick Coffin
I tried not to give away too much in this review.
These days it seems essential that a thriller have some sort of twist at the end of the movie. Although a good twist can really add to the enjoyment of a theater experience, such tricks can become tiring and writers had better not solely rely on it to make a movie pleasing. Director James Mangold manages to make "Identity" worth a trip to the theater despite the fact that it has not one but several twists.
So yeah we have some of the scary movie cliches: Yup, it was a dark and stormy night. Ten strangers get stuck at a seedy motel and all of them have something to hide. You get the expected melange of characters; a couple with a child, a chauffeur and a mean-spirited actress, an attractive young prostitute, a cop and his psychotic prisoner, and a just-married couple. Oh and not to mention the skangy motel manager. One by one they show up, and one by one they each get picked off. The blood trail begins with the resident in motel room 8.
From the beginning the movie keeps the tension set on high, with a nasty car accident complete with blood-a-gushing. Once the murders begin, the doomed bunch gather in one room. They are directed to stay together but naturally several do not follow orders and wander off -- providing those delightfully irritating moments when you just want to yell an assortment of put-downs to the characters on screen. At first everyone seems sure they know who the culprit is until the supposed murderer is killed. And that's when things get really creepy. For a few moments it was creepy enough to make my eyes water.
So that's about all that can be said without giving too much away. Mangold, whose previous directing credits include fine films such as "Heavy" and "Girl, Interrupted," continues his winning streak with "Identity." The twists fit fairly well and are not too confusing. John Cusack gives a terrific performance (as always) portraying the most level-headed individual of the bunch, the chauffeur. Cusack and the rest of the cast (which includes Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Clea Duvall and John C. McGinley) work well together, helping to make this film a decent thriller -- to me much better than "The Ring."
Grade: B+ Rated: R for violence and language
This "governmental" type of identity is also used in various private institutions as a means of populace organization. From the workplace, to a baseball park, Identity is perserved with various elements of proof. They include: ID/membership (identification) cards or badges ID/membership numbers Biometrics
An entirely vague concept of identity refers to the unique mix of characteristics that comprise an individual. It is used to decipher cause and effect, subject and object, in an indifferent, continuous landscape that is reality. Identity is a formalisation of the patterns that define a person's behavior as they mature in life. It may have several parameters including:ReligiosityIntelligenceSociabilitySexual PreferenceSelf EsteemHumorLoyaltyTemperAttitudeCreativityAmbition
I*den"ti*ty (?), n.; pl. Identities (#). [F. identit'e, LL. identitas, fr. L. idem the same, from the root of is he, that; cf. Skr. idam this. Cf. Item.]
1.
The state or quality of being identical, or the same; sameness.
Identity is a relation between our cognitions of a thing, not between things themselves. Sir W. Hamilton.
2.
The condition of being the same with something described or asserted, or of possessing a character claimed; as, to establish the identity of stolen goods.
3. Math.
An identical equation.
© Webster 1913.
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