Identity (2003) - Mangold succeeds with crafty thriller

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Mortal danger, mystery and scares are teased on this deft poster for James Mangold's Identity

Ten strangers meet at a small hotel on a very rainy night, soon facing someone unknown that starts eliminating them one by one.

 

Identity is written by Michael Cooney (Murder in Mind (1997)) and co-produced and directed by New-Yorker master filmmaker James Mangold (Heavy (1995)), whose 5th feature it is.

The semi-psychological, somewhat baloney-ish plot is a bit hole-ridden but fair, with some  Se7en (1995) inspiration dripping off it. But the pay-off is considerable, and Identity is staged highly professionally. 

Amanda Peet (Gulliver's Travels (2010)) is lovely here, and the editing is tight. And God, how it rains in this modern high-concept thriller.

 

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Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 28 mil. $

Box office: 90.2 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 3.22 times its cost)

[Identity premiere 23 April (Los Angeles) and runs 90 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including in Los Angeles. Angelo Badalamenti made a score for the film, but it was replaced with one by Alan Silvestri. The film opened #1 to a 16.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent 2 more weekends in the top 5 (#3-#4), grossing 52.1 mil. $ (57.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 5.2 mil. $ (5.8 %) and Germany with 4.7 mil. $ (5.2 %). Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Mangold returned with Walk the Line (2005). John Cusack (Reclaim (2014)) returned in Runaway Jury (2003); Peet in Something's Gotta Give (2003). Identity is fresh at 63 % with a 6.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Identity?

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992) or, The Nanny Terror!

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A harmonious family picture is menacingly cut in half with Rebecca De Mornay's blond-haired, wicked face staring out on this effective poster for Curtis Hanson's The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

A harmonious young couple with a daughter and a second on the way have recently been through a case in which the mother/wife was one sexual misconduct accuser against a gynecologist who consequently took his own life. Now the couple hire a beautiful, blond nanny...

 

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is written by Amanda Silver (Eye for an Eye (1996)) and directed by Nevadan master filmmaker Curtis Hanson (Sweet Kill (1972)), whose 7th feature it is.

SPOILER The nanny turns out to be the late gynecologist's embittered, psychotic widow! The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is somewhat predictable but still a wildly effective, thrilling film with three great actress performances: Annabella Sciorra (The Maid's Room (2013)) as the unlucky wife/mother; Julianne Moore (Next (2007)) as her close friend and a real power woman; and Rebecca De Mornay (The Right Temptation (2000)) as the ice-cold nanny maniac.

Robert Elswit (Cadillac Dreams (1988, short)) gives solidity to the photography, - and the entire construction that is The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is in fact solid. It is a highly satisfying nail-biter erected around the transgressive idea of the callous, mad nanny.

 

Watch a short trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 11.9 mil. $

Box office: 140 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 11.76 times its cost)

[The Hand That Rocks the Cradle was released 10 January (USA) and runs 110 minutes. Shooting took place from April - July 1991 in Washington, including in Seattle. The film opened #1 to a 7.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it remained #1 for another 3 weekends and then spent another 3 weekends (#2-#4-#5) in the top 5, grossing 88 mil. $ (62.9 % of the total gross). Hanson returned with The River Wild (1994). Sciorra returned in Whispers in the Dark (1992); De Mornay in Blind Side (1993, TV movie) and theatrically in Guilty As Sin (1993). The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is fresh at 65 % with a 6.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle?