Identities

Maybe I was in the mood for it, but I found this little movie intriguing. It's certainly different. I didn't read anything too profound into it; I just think it was an interesting story beautifully played. It seems to have bored some people stiff and the critical response according to Wikipedia was mixed to negative - I guess they weren't in the mood for it. Alice (Rachel Weisz), a woman who disappeared years before, returns and meets her old boyfriend Tom (Michael Shannon). We learn that she has changed identities and occupations many times, acquiring new skills and friends, only to suddenly leave them all behind to adopt a totally new identity. This sort of thing usually has sinister undertones often involving serial killers and people held captive in cellars, but here there is nothing evil at all, only feelings of sadness for a lost relationship and Tom's sense of purposelessness in his life. There are a few more layers to it, and Alice's self indulgent philosophy is questioned. There is one telling sequence when Alice and Tom help an older couple played by Danny Glover and Kathy Bates. Tom is invited into Alice's world of identity changing almost like in theatre sports where the players are given a character and then have to improvise like crazy; it unlocks something repressed in Tom. As Alice's story unfolds I thought of that line in Kurt Vonnegut's "Mother Night" - "You must be careful what you pretend to be, because in the end you are what you pretend to be". The film has a seductive mood aided by an atmospheric score and doesn't outstay its welcome. I won't spoil the ending, but it felt right. I'm glad I didn't read the critics first - "Complete Unknown" was a complete surprise.