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Monday, September 17, 2007

Mr. Brooks

Mr. Brooks
2007 -- Rated R
Director: Bruce Evans
Kevin Costner, Demi Moore, Dane Cook, William Hurt


   Most folks I know are either a Kevin Costner fan or they’re not and if they’re not they say he has very limited acting range and his emotions are monotonous. That being said Mr. Brooks is a perfect vehicle for Costner. Mr. Brooks (Costner) is a very complex man and he must hide that complexity as best he can, which means his emotional range is very limited. You see, Mr. Brooks is a serial killer and not just your garden variety of serial killers either, Mr. Brooks is a schizophrenic – and he knows it.
   Yet while he spends his evenings killing, his daylife is consumed by a boorish existance as the owner of a box making company. He has even been named Portland, Oregon’s Man of the Year.
   Mr. Brooks has managed to keep his schizophrenia under control for two years by attending AA meetings, divulging only that he is an “addict.” But Marshall, Mr. Brooks’ imaginary alter-ego played wonderfully by the talented William Hurt, manages to convince Mr. Brooks to “do” one more killing.
   As complex a person as Mr. Brooks is, his complexity rivals that of the movie plot which, though never too hard to follow, successfully intertwines several different storylines. Demi Moore is Tracy Atwood, a Portland detective who has been on the trail of the “Thumbprint Killer” (Costner) for quite some time. Dane Cook is Mr. Smith who accidentally takes photos of Mr. Brooks’ latest escapade, but rather than turn him in, he wants to learn how to kill. Amidst all this, Mr. Brooks’ daughter suddenly appears on the scene, having dropped out of college because of an alleged pregnancy but it turns out that she too suffers from the same homicidal disease as her father.
   It would be difficult to divulge more of the plot lines without giving away too much of the movie. Suffice it to say that this is one heck of a movie that will keep you riveted to your seat. Costner is perfectly cast as Mr. Brooks and Mr. Brooks is easily the best movie of the year so far.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for writing this.