15 Best Movies About Identity You Must Watch

The first in the list of movies about identity has the name Identity. It is a Hollywood neo-noir slasher film directed by James Mangold and based on a script co-written by Michael Cooney and Mangold, both of which are based on Coney’s original story and released in 2003.

John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina, Clée Duvall, and Rebecca De Morne are the leading stars in the film.

The movie plot revolves around ten strangers at an isolated hotel, momentarily cut off from the rest of the world, and inexplicably slain one by one, based on Agatha Christie’s 1939 novels Whodunit and Then There Were None.

Several incidents that occur hours before the characters arrive are projected into significant moments in the film utilizing reverse chronological structure, while in a parallel plot, a killer awaits the outcome of an important trial that will determine whether or not he will be punished for his crimes.

It bagged approx $90 million worldwide. When the movie was released it got a mixed reaction from critics and viewers but slowly the movie picked pace.

Identity thief

Identity Thief is a 2013 American road comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, written by Craig Mazin and starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy. Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) is a fictional character whose identity is taken by an unknown woman in the film (Melissa McCarthy).

The Machinist

The Machinist is a psychological thriller film directed by Brad Anderson and written by Scott Kosar that was released in 2004. It stars Christian Bale as the title character, a machinist who struggles with guilt, anxiety, and delusion after going a year without sleeping. In supporting roles, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, John Sharian, and Michael Ironside appear.

Bale’s dedication to the job gained attention, as he shed 62 pounds (28 kg) in preparation for the role. The Machinist was praised and appreciated by critics upon its premiere, including praise for Bale’s acting, and made $8.2 million on a $5 million budget.

Taking Lives

Taking Lives is a Hollywood psychological thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and starring Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke, with Kiefer Sutherland, Olivier Martinez, Tchéky Karyo, Jean-Hugues Anglade, and Gena Rowlands in supporting parts and released in 2004.

The film, loosely based on Michael Pye’s novel of the same name, revolves around an enigmatic serial murderer who assumes the identities of his victims.

On-location shooting took place in Montréal and Quebec City, Quebec. Philip Glass composed the original music soundtrack, and Walter Werzowa of the electronica group Edelweiss composed the main title tune.

Warner Bros. Pictures distributed the picture in the United States on March 19, 2004, to mixed-to-negative reviews.

Unknown

Unknown, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and starring Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Quinn, Bruno Ganz, and Frank Langella, is a 2011 action-thriller film.

The film, produced by Joel Silver, Leonard Goldberg, and Andrew Rona, is based on Didier Van Cauwelaert’s 2003 French novel Out of My Head, which was adapted as the screenplay for the film by Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell.

The plot revolves around a professor who awakens from a four-day coma and sets out to prove his identity after no one, including his own wife, recognizes him and another guy claims to be him.

The picture, which was released on February 18, 2011, received mixed reviews from reviewers and grossed $136 million against its $30 million budget.

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Lost Highway

Lost Highway is directed by David Lynch and co-written by David Lynch and Barry Gifford. The neo-niar movie was released in 1997.

Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, and Robert Blake star in it. The film depicts a musician (Pullman) who begins receiving odd VHS videos of himself and his wife (Arquette) in their house, and who is abruptly convicted of murder, after which he mysteriously vanishes and is replaced by a young mechanic (Getty) living a new life.

Lost Highway was mostly shot in Los Angeles, where Lynch reunited with frequent producer Mary Sweeney and cinematographer Peter Deming. It was sponsored by the French production firm Ciby 2000.

Lynch has referred to the picture as a “psychogenic fugue” rather than a conventionally logical story, and its strange narrative structure has been compared to a Möbius strip.

Trent Reznor produced the soundtrack, which includes original music by Angelo Badalamenti and Barry Adamson, as well as contributions by artists such as David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails, and The Smashing Pumpkins.

Lost Highway received mediocre reviews upon its initial release and made $3.7 million in North America during a brief three-week run. Most critics condemned the picture as nonsensical at first, but it has subsequently gained a cult following, critical acclaim, and scholarly curiosity.

The first of three Lynch films set in Los Angeles, Lost Highway is followed by Mulholland Drive in 2001 and Inland Empire in 2006. Olga Neuwirth, an Austrian composer, transformed the film into an opera in 2003.

Memento

Memento is a 2000 American psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan and written and produced by Suzanne and Jennifer Todd.

The script was based on a suggestion by Nolan’s brother Jonathan, who used the notion to write the 2001 novella “Memento Mori.” Guy Pearce plays a man who suffers from anterograde amnesia (the inability to acquire new memories) and short-term memory loss every fifteen minutes as a result of an injury.

He’s looking for the people who attacked him and killed his wife, and he’s utilizing a sophisticated system of Polaroid photos and tattoos to seek out facts he can’t recall.

The film is presented in two different sequences of scenes scattered throughout the picture: a black-and-white series that is exhibited chronologically, and a color sequence that is displayed in reverse order (simulating for the audience the mental state of the protagonist). The two sequences come together at the end of the film to form a single, full, and cohesive story.

Desired To Kill

In this list, this is one of the few foreign movies. The original language of the movie is Korean.

A PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) patient chained to his bed finds himself sharing a room with a gang seeking for a paralyzed amnesia patient. And he must eliminate him before he is identified.

The movie stars Yoo Hae-jin, Cheon Ho-jin, Seo Hyo-rim, Ra Mi-ran, Kim Seo-hyung.

Take Shelter

Take Shelter is a Hollywood psychological thriller film directed and written by Jeff Nichols that stars Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain released in 2011.

The plot revolves around a young husband and father (Shannon) who is troubled by a sequence of unfolding scenarios and wonders if he can save his family from an impending storm or by himself and his rising anxiety about paranoid schizophrenia. Will relieve you of your concerns.

The film received two Saturn Awards, including Best Screenplay for Nichols and Best Actor for Shannon, and was nominated for two more, including Best Horror Movie or Thriller and Best Actress for Chastain. It delves into masculinity, mental illness, and how long it takes people to defend those they care about.

A perfect Gateway

A Perfect Getaway is a 2009 American thriller film directed by David Twohey and written by David Twohey, starring Timothy Olyphant, Milla Jovovich, Kiel Sanchez, and Steve Zahn. Olyphant, Jovovich, Sanchez, and Zahan play a group of couples on vacation in Hawaii who find their lives in jeopardy when murders on the island occur, raising suspicions that one of the couples is the murderer.

A Perfect Getaway, which was shot in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, was released in the United States on August 7, 2009. It earned mostly positive reviews from reviewers and grossed $22 million against a budget of $14 million.

The Number 23

The Number 23 is a 2007 American thriller film directed by Joel Schumacher and written by Fernley Phillips that features in our list of movies about identity.

Jim Carrey plays a man who becomes obsessed with 23 riddles after reading them into a strange book that mirrors his own life.

On February 23, 2007, the film was released in the United States. It is the second film in which Schumacher and Carey appear together, the first being Batman Forever. The film grossed $77.6 million and received an approval rating of 8% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Under The Skin

Under the Skin is a 2013 science fiction film directed by Jonathan Glazer and written by Glazer and Walter Campbell, based on Michelle Faber’s novel of the same name published in 2000. Scarlett Johansson plays an eerie woman who pursues men in Scotland.

The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 29, 2013.

The film was released on March 14, 2014, in the United Kingdom, April 4, 2014, in North America, July 23, 2014, in Switzerland, and August 10, 2014, worldwide.

For over a decade, Glazer has been developed beneath the skin. He and co-writer Walter Campbell transformed an elaborate concept with special effects into a sparse story focusing on an alien perspective of the human world. The majority of the cast was chosen from among candidates with no prior acting experience, and many scenes were shot with hidden cameras.

3 Women

The next in the movies about identity list is Robert Altman’s 1977 avant-garde drama film 3 Women, starring Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Janice Rule, was written, produced, and directed by Altman. It follows a woman (Duvall) and her roommate and colleague (Spacek) in a dusty California desert town as their relationship becomes increasingly strange and mysterious.

The story was inspired by Altman’s dream, which he adapted for therapy and intended to film without a script. Based on Altman’s previous work, 20th Century Fox funded the project, and a script was completed before filming began.

In 1977, 3 Women premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where she competed for the Golden Palm and won the Best Actress award at Duval. It received widespread approval from critics. The use of psychoanalysis and the discussion of identity are among the film’s interpretations. Despite Hollywood studios funding and distributing it, it was not a big box office success. The film was not available on home video for nearly thirty years after its theatrical release, until it was released in 2004 by the Criterion Collection.

Excalibur

Excalibur is a 1981 British epic fantasy film directed, produced, and written by John Boorman, based on the 15th-century Arthurian romance Le Morte d’Arthur, Thomas of King Arthur, and the Knights of the Round Table. retells the story Mallory.

Nigel Terry plays Arthur, Nicole Williamson plays Marilyn, Nicholas Clay plays Lancelot, Cheri Lungi plays Guinevere, Helen Mirren plays Morgan, Liam Neeson plays Gawain, Gabriel Byrne plays Uther Pendragon, and Patrick Stewart plays Leondegrance.

The film takes its title from King Arthur’s famous sword, which has a prominent place in Arthurian literature. Music by Richard Wagner and Carl Orff, as well as original music by Trevor Jones, appear on the film’s soundtrack.

Poison Ivy

The last in the movies about identity list is Poison Ivy. It is a 1992 American erotic thriller directed by Kat Shea in which the antagonist conceals her identity. Drew Barrymore, Sarah Gilbert, Tom Skerritt, and Cheryl Ladd star. David Michael Frank composed the original musical. The film was shot entirely in Los Angeles.

In 1992, she was nominated for the Grand Prix du Jury for Best Film at the Sundance Film Festival. At the Independent Spirit Awards in 1993, Sarah Gilbert was nominated for Best Second Woman. Although it did not perform well at the box office the film received positive reviews and became a cable and video hit in the mid-1990s. It is the first film in the Poison Ivy film series, which also includes three live-action sequels.

The movie has been adopted by other movie industries worldwide.