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Everyone has a dirty little secret that’s buried deep down inside, hidden from the rest of the world. For me, it’s my love of bad comedies (okay, so maybe that’s not such a big secret). For Earl Brooks (Kevin Costner), though, it’s much more secret—and much more sinister. The prominent Portland businessman seems to have it all—the perfect family and the perfect business. But Mr. Brooks has a deep, dark secret—an addiction that he just can’t seem to break.
Mr. Brooks is addicted to killing.
Costner, known for playing tough, good-natured guys in heart-warming films, gives a strong and disturbing performance as the troubled man who’s fighting a secret addiction that won’t leave him alone. Costner’s Brooks is the guy everyone knows and admires—the successful businessman who’s also a loving husband and the concerned father of a college-age daughter. He’s the kind of guy who probably goes out of his way to help old ladies cross the street.
And just as you wouldn’t suspect the nice guy next door of being a serial killer (well, not unless you’re the kid from Disturbia), you wouldn’t expect Kevin Costner to play one. And that’s why it was such a brilliant casting move. It throws you off right from the start, and it builds the kind of suspense that makes you feel pleasantly uneasy. But Costner was also given plenty to work with—because his character is given complexities that you don’t normally see in your standard movie psycho. Because Mr. Brooks is desperately trying to quit. Though the AA meetings he attends seem to help, he just can’t get rid of the constant taunting of his murderous doppelganger, Marshall (William Hurt), who’s always there, lurking over his shoulder, listening in on every conversation, pushing him to do what he’s trying so hard to quit.
When, on Marshall’s urging, Mr. Brooks commits his first gruesome murder after more than two years, he attracts the attention of Detective Tracy Atwood (Demi Moore). He also attracts the attention of a man known as Mr. Smith (Dane Cook), an amateur photographer who threatens to spill Mr. Brooks’s secret—unless he gets what he wants.
Mr. Brooks is a smart and suspenseful psychological thriller that’s filled with intriguing twists. It’s also forceful and often gruesome—and it’s sure to make you jump out of your seat at least a couple of times (and then laugh that nervous that-didn’t-really-scare-me laugh). That’s not to say, though, that there weren’t a few things that nagged at me after the credits rolled. Going into it, I was cautiously optimistic about seeing Dane Cook in a serious movie. And now, after seeing it, I’m just not buying it. The story also leaves a few loose ends and misses a few great opportunities, especially where Hurt’s “character” is concerned.
But, that said, when it was all over, I came home to a dark, empty house, and I realized that I was just a little bit creeped out—and that’s what really matters. It’s thrilling, and it’s eerie, and it’ll make you look twice at that nice guy down the street—and that makes it worth checking out.
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