When people talk about an identity theft movie 2004 release, they aren't usually thinking about a guy stealing a credit card to buy a flat-screen TV. They’re thinking about Ethan Hawke. Specifically, they're thinking about the bone-chilling way he portrayed a serial killer who doesn't just kill people—he moves into their lives.
Taking Lives hit theaters in March 2004. Honestly, the mid-2000s were a weirdly specific golden era for the "detective hunts a genius sociopath" subgenre. You had Se7en a decade earlier setting the bar impossibly high, and then a string of followers trying to catch that same lightning in a bottle. This one was different. It traded the gritty, rain-soaked streets for the cold, atmospheric backdrop of Montreal.
The plot is basically every nightmare a person has about being forgotten. Angelina Jolie plays Illeana Scott, an FBI profiler who is, quite frankly, a bit of an outcast within the bureau because she uses unconventional methods. She’s called in by the Montreal police to track a killer who assumes the identities of his victims. He lives in their houses. He eats their food. He uses their names until he gets bored or the heat gets too close, and then he finds a new "skin" to inhabit.
The psychology of the identity thief in 2004 cinema
We have to look at the context of 2004. This was a time when the internet was becoming a household staple, but we weren't yet obsessed with "digital" identity theft. The fear was still physical. It was about a stranger standing in your living room.
The film was based on the 1999 novel by Michael Pye. While the movie takes some massive departures from the book—the ending is a complete 180-degree turn—the core remains. It’s about the erasure of the self. Most movies about killers focus on the act of death. Taking Lives focuses on the act of replacement.
Critics at the time, like Roger Ebert, were somewhat lukewarm on it. Ebert gave it three stars, noting that it was a "well-made thriller" but perhaps relied too much on the "obligatory" twists. But looking back, the movie captures a specific anxiety of the early 2000s. There’s a scene where Jolie’s character is lying in a grave to "feel" the victim's perspective. It’s high drama, maybe a little cheesy by today's standards, but it highlights the desperation of trying to understand a person who has no identity of their own.
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Why Taking Lives redefined the genre's tropes
It’s easy to forget how much of a powerhouse Angelina Jolie was in 2004. She was coming off Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Beyond Borders. She brought this weird, ethereal intensity to Agent Scott. Then you have Ethan Hawke. If you’ve seen the movie, you know his performance is the pivot point. He plays Costa, an art gallery owner who witnessed one of the murders. Or so we think.
The twist in this identity theft movie 2004 staple is what everyone remembers. Without spoiling it for the three people who haven't seen it on cable TV at 2 a.m., it involves a long game that most audience members didn't see coming. It’s a masterclass in the "unreliable character" trope.
The movie also featured a stellar supporting cast that added weight to the Canadian setting. You had Tchéky Karyo, Jean-Hugues Anglade, and a pre-stardom Kiefer Sutherland. Gena Rowlands shows up as the killer’s mother, and her scenes are genuinely some of the most unsettling in the entire film. She brings a grounded, tragic realism to a story that otherwise feels like a high-concept Hollywood thriller.
Technical mastery and the Montreal vibe
The cinematography by Amir Mokri is gorgeous. It uses a lot of desaturated blues and greys. Montreal feels like a labyrinth. It’s old, it’s stony, and it’s full of places to hide. This isn't the shiny, bright Los Angeles of Training Day. It’s a city where you can imagine someone's life being quietly erased in a basement apartment.
Interestingly, the film had a bit of a troubled production. It went through several directors before D.J. Caruso took the helm. Despite that, the pacing is surprisingly tight. It clocks in at just under two hours, which is a blessing compared to the bloated three-hour epics we get now. It’s lean. It’s mean. It knows exactly what it wants to do: scare you into checking the locks on your doors.
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There’s a specific sequence involving a highway chase and a car crash that remains one of the most visceral stunts of that era. It wasn't all CGI. You can feel the metal crunching. It adds a level of physical stakes that balances out the psychological "who is who" games the characters are playing.
What we get wrong about identity theft movies
Most people confuse Taking Lives with other films of that era. You might be thinking of The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) or even Flightplan (2005). But Taking Lives is the only one that treats identity theft as a literal, predatory lifecycle.
The killer, Martin Asher, isn't motivated by money. That’s the key. In the real world, identity theft is a financial crime. In the world of this identity theft movie 2004, it’s an existential crime. The killer is someone who hated his own life so much—and specifically his mother’s perception of him—that he decided to just... stop being himself.
There’s a deep, psychological sadness under the surface of the jumpscares. The movie asks: if someone else is living your life better than you were, does it even matter that you're gone? That’s a heavy question for a movie that also features a scene where a guy gets hit by a pair of scissors.
Actionable ways to revisit the 2004 thriller era
If you're looking to dive back into this specific niche of mid-2000s cinema, don't just stop at Taking Lives. The "police procedural with a twist" was a whole vibe that has largely migrated to prestige TV (think Mindhunter or True Detective).
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To get the most out of a rewatch or a first-time viewing, keep these points in mind:
- Watch the Unrated Director’s Cut. It adds about four minutes of footage, mostly character beats and a bit more gore, which helps the atmosphere breathe.
- Pay attention to the background characters. The film is famous for hiding the killer in plain sight. If you know the ending, the first act becomes a completely different movie.
- Compare it to the book. Michael Pye’s novel is much more cynical. If you want a darker, less "Hollywood" version of the story, the book is a fantastic companion piece.
- Look for the Montreal landmarks. If you've ever been to the city, the way Caruso shoots Old Montreal is spectacular and accurate to the geography, which is rare for movies shot in Canada pretending to be New York or Chicago.
The legacy of Taking Lives isn't necessarily that it changed cinema forever. It didn't. But it remains a perfectly executed example of a genre that doesn't really exist in theaters anymore. It’s a movie made for adults who want to be unsettled. In an era of superheroes and multiverses, there’s something refreshing about a story where the monster is just a guy who wants to be you.
If you’re planning a movie night, pairing this with Copycat (1995) or The Bone Collector (1999) creates the ultimate "profiler in peril" marathon. Just make sure you know where your passport is before you start the film. You might feel the urge to check it halfway through.
Next Steps for the Film Buff:
- Check streaming availability: As of early 2026, Taking Lives frequently rotates on platforms like HBO Max and Netflix.
- Research the "Martin Asher" psychology: If the concept of the "chameleon killer" fascinates you, look into real-life cases like Frédéric Bourdin, the French con man who was the subject of the documentary The Imposter.
- Evaluate the score: Philip Glass composed the music for this film. It’s one of his more accessible, haunting works that deserves a listen on its own.
Ultimately, this film serves as a time capsule. It reminds us of a time when the greatest threat to our identity wasn't a database leak, but a person standing right behind us.