Mr. Brooks

There is something to be said about the small movies released amongst the big budget sequels and if you are looking for something different, this is a good movie to attend. It is fast, smart, a bit disturbing, has the loudest gun shots ever and will have you wondering "What is going to happen next" throughout. The main problem is, so often "what happens next" is exactly what you'd think would happen next. Every time the movie starts to veer into something different, it clings firmly to the concept of following the cliched path set aside for these types of films. That does not mean, however, that it is a bad movie because I found myself definitely enjoying it.


Kevin Costner plays Earl Brooks, a respected and wealthy man in the community. He has a beautiful wife, a college student daughter and has just won the man of the year award for his community. Oh he also manifests an alter ego in the form of William Hurt. Hurt has a name, Marshall, and is the vicious, serial killer persona that Costner tries to keep hidden by attending AA meetings. William Hurt is manically brilliant and this movie utilizes the separate personas brilliantly. Costner has full on conversations with him which gives a different variation on the serial killer movie. I mean, we actually get to hear what is going on through the mind of a killer and how he lives his life before and after kills. At the start of the film there is a brilliant scene in a car where Marshall is egging Earl on to kill someone, as Earl is driving with his wife. Eventually Marshall wins and we get a disturbing death/orgasm scene that really sets the tone for the movie. Earl claims he will never kill again, but a few new sub plots are introduced here and it becomes clear that he will kill again.


The first new plot consists of comedian Dane Cook who has taken pictures of Earl killing the couple. However, instead of blackmailing him for money or threatening to go to the police, Cook (going by Mr. Smith) wants Earl to teach him to kill. Yes, that is right, our serial killer may not be the most immoral character in the movie. Cook talks about how watching that couple have sex and taking pictures of it helped get him off, but that was nothing compared to the rush of watching Earl kill them and so now he wants to be a killer. The scene that feature Cook are bursting with a manic energy as he plays Mr. Smith like a kid about to get a new toy or a teenage boy about to lose his virginity. He harnesses his nervous energy with a giant evil smile and really puts forth a great character. One that is easy for everyone to hate, yet stay drawn to. Costner and Cook play well off each other and the scenes int he car really set this movie apart from the usual serial killer fare. The second sub plot involves Brook's daughter coming home from college early and she is without her car. It is obvious she is hiding a secret, but those things are hidden from the trailers for a reason so I will not give it all away. I will just say, I wish there was more of that idea in the movie.


Demi Moore also joins in the fun here as the cop looking for Brooks. Brooks has been titled "The Thumbprint killer" and Moore has been looking for him for a while. We find out it has been two years since his last kill. The Moore character is where this film veers off the good road. She gets an unnecessary back story, just to add time to the running time. She is from a wealthy family and is going through a rough divorce where the husband is asking for 5 million dollars. Also, a bad guy she put away has broken out of jail and may or may not be after her. Demi doesn't add anything here and to be honest, this movie would have better if the focus never went away from the killer and his life. Granted, this off plot does give us a very loud gun fight, but other than that I didn't need it.


There is no massive twist to the movie, although it keeps allowing you to think there will be and that is enough, really. The acting is very solid and the director seems to have an idea of what he is doing. His use of the rear view mirror is outstanding and plays very much into this movie. William Hurt is wonderful as a character that doesn't really exist, but the way he plays it, you almost forget he is a figment of Costner's imagination. Yes, it is hard to see Kevin Costner as a killer, but that is what makes this movie even more perverse and disturbing. It actually works very much in the movie's favor.