The film Identity was produced in 2003 by writer Michael
Cooney and directed by James Mangold. The budget for the film was 28 million US
dollars. The main actors in the film were John Cusack, Ray Liotta and Amanda
Peet. The film is both a mystery and thriller genre. The age rating for this
film is 15 which suggests that the film is directed to people over 15 years of
age so the target audience is 15 years and older. With both males and females
being the main characters could imply that the target audience is both females
and males.
The opening to the film starts with the production companies
for example Columbia picture which is the same as The Da Vinvi Code this could
be highlighted as a similarity between mystery and thriller films. When Columbia
Pictures shows on the screen it is in white font and is presented on a black
background which makes it stand out and also the I in Columbia pictures is on
the screen for longer which reflects the title of the film and therefore shows
its importance.
The first shot is a close up of a cassette which looks like
it is from a hospital of some sort because it says patient and the session it
is. Pathetic Fallacy is also used in this shot because the sound of thunder is
in the background and the flashes of light from the lightning is reflected on
the cassette. The use of thunder and lightning reflects the mood of the scene
and maybe even the overall film. This could mean that the film involves death
because thunder and lightning is normally associated with horror films and
killings. The use of cassette tapes suggests it might be set in the past
because cassette aren’t so common within today’s age.
The next shot is of the same record player but involves a
pan of the camera turning the shot from a high angle shot into a level shot. This
shows the importance of the tape because the background is unclear even when
the camera moves showing it is the main item in the shot. Mystery is being created
because the audience is wondering what the tape has to do with the film and why
it is so important. After this a hand is introduced into the shot and rewinds
or fast forwards the tape and when this happens there is a flash of different
shots showing information about the tape, a photo that may be the person on the
tape and some children’s drawings with red pencil showing blood. The technique
used is a montage of shots which creates suspense and confusion for the
audience because the shots aren’t on the screen long enough for the audience to
get all of the information.
The shot after this pans over the children’s drawings the drawings
look like people have been killed because a red pencil has been used to colour
in the blood. These drawings could reflect the film or even show the future of
the film.
After that there is a pan down showing more drawings of what
looks like a family because there are words like mum written around them. These
drawing could also say something about the film or person who is I the film. The
next shot is a close up of the word mom which shows its importance to the
audience.
There is then a mid close up of the record player and the
drawing which shows there is a link between them or the person on the cassette
may have drawn them. There are a lot of questions created by the audience which
means that confusion is being created as well as mystery. Within these shots
the names of the actors are being shown on the screen in white writing which
makes it stand out on the background.
The next shot involves a pan to the right over what looks
like criminal files, this emphasises the fact that the film is a mystery and
thriller. The camera then moves to a over the shoulder shot looking over who
could be a main characters shoulder at the files. This could suggest that this character
could be a detective or a doctor of some sort.
Within the next couple of shots the camera gets closer to
the file focusing on important information like the name of the criminal, the
photos and the reason why they were jailed. The camera focuses and zooms in to
see just single words which highlight their importance.
A mid close up of the persons face is the next shot the guy
is wearing glasses which could highlight his intelligence and the knowledge he
may have. He is squinting so would suggest that he is concentrating on
something of something is confusing him. Also he is positioned on the right
side of the shot which allows the title of the film to be introduced on the
right. The fact that the title and his face is in the same shot suggests that
he may play a big part in the film.
The next couple of shots go back to the files but this time
focuses on their faces in particular which emphasises their relevance to the
storyline and film. Also the repetition of the files further reinforces the
fact that the film is a mystery and thriller.
There is then a low angle shot of the male character showing
what power he might have so he might be a detective who is very high up in the
ranks or he might just be very well respected within his field, this further gives
clues to what the film is about because it is now more obvious that a crime is involved.
An aspect of mise-en-scene which is shown in this shot is costumes because he
is wearing a suit and tie which further implies that he is a detective or works
in law. The camera slowly zooms into his face throughout the duration of this
shot.
There is then a mid close up of a news paper clipping which
shows an incident which could have been solved by him or could be related to
the case files he is looking through during this scene. Throughout this whole
scene there is no loud music but there is a soft music in the background with
the tape playing over the top, these both contradict each other because the
tape involves much action through words yet the music is calm.
After this there is an extreme close up of the title of the
newspaper clipping further showing its importance to the audience. This is
another clue to who the main characters might be and what else is going to
happen. The camera pans across the title
showing what is says almost like it is from the characters point of view
reading it this creates a connection with the audience because it is like they
are reading it with the character. There
is then a shot of the picture in the newspaper showing a boy at this point the
audience might have made a connection between the voice on the tape and the boy
in the car which therefore highlights his importance. The following shot just
show important information on the files which relates to the incident, the location
and foster agencies which would suggest the boy was orphaned at a young age, again
giving clues about the film.
There is then a mid shot of the man leaning on a desk with
the window in the background looking through those files. The camera then
starts to slowly zoom in towards the man’s face showing his reaction to the
tape. There is use of low lighting in this scene to create suspense and is
almost lets the audience know that this is the opening to the film and want the
audience to focus on the tape more than the surroundings in the room.