Rojo
Mr Brooks
“Never trust a man wearing a bowtie, it is representational of his testicles not his penis as a tie is”.
This basic observation of human behaviour is the first thing I noticed with the attire of Mr Brooks (Kevin Costner) businessman, philanthropist, family man, and psychopathic killer.
Earl Brooks a successful box company owner (amongst other things including a graveyard) has an dark addiction. He is not addicted to smack, or cocaine, no. Brook’s vice is murder and with the add of his imaginary friend Marshall (William Hurt) he is meticulous at indulging in his addiction.
As we meet Brooks we meet a man who is struggling with his addiction. He has been clean for years but as with all addicts he has desires to return to his vice, to wash himself in his enamour for murder and willed on by Marshall he is eventually powerless to stop himself. As the film proceeds we begin to see Brooks is a man who although hates himself for what he is addicted to, is a man that derives deep pleasure in killing.
Though Brooks is a monster he is very likable (in the same vain as Dexter) and in his solifluction back to his old ways Brooks makes an error in his planning and is witnessed by a want to be killer Mr Smith (Dane Cook). Blackmailed into helping Smith kill someone Brooks is fully pulled back into the world of murder and in having gone back to this world returns to the killer of old finally beginning to kill for reasons other his own needs.
Mr Brooks transcend your average killer film. His conversations with Marshall allow us to know his thoughts and magnetises us to the character much more if the Marshall character wasn’t included in the plot.
Add to this a driven cop (Demi Moore) and a killer in waiting daughter (Danielle Panabakere) Brook’s world begins to become complicated and uncontrollable, a type of world he isn’t comfortable living in. His is one of order, risk management and one of freedom. To be caught would mean death to Brooks, not as in Death Row but the death of his life and everything he has put in place to allow him to live it and indulge in his dark secret.
This is a little gem of a film, one that should have done better. There is talk that this is the first of three (money made depending) and I would be interested in seeing another movie on the character Brooks. Also the Brooks character seems as if it has come from a book but all my research leads to no. There is opportunity in Brooks as he alludes to having killed many people so a prequel could be on the cards.
A great psycho-killer film very much like the Hannibal Lector character without the solipsism, and ostentation. A great DVD rental.
7/10
