Mr. Brooks (2007)
Kevin Costner stars as a highly respected businessman in his native city of Portland, Oregon, where he has just been named Man of the Year. Unfortunately for the citizens of Portland he is also the keeper of a horrific secret. Brooks has an alter ego - Marshall (William Hurt) who has returned after two years. Brooks / Marshall is better known to police as The Thumbprint Killer.
This serial killer thriller was both fun and fascinating. I really had no idea where the script by director Bruce Evans would take me next. The film has plenty of twists and turns, yet for a change these seem valid parts of the story, not just chucked in to fool the viewer and insult their intelligence like lesser films seem to do.
The films cast is brilliant. There is real cameraderie between Costner, in his best role for years, and Hurt as his psychotic alter ego. Costner is downright creepy at times even though he's supposedly the one with a conscience. The two are well supported by Demi Moore as a cop tracking the Thumbprint Killer and Dane Cook as a photographer who witnesses a murder.
The film doesn't have the nailbiting tension of say, Silence of the Lambs, but its script isn't meant that way. If i was to compare the tone of story i'd place it with Shane Black's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang due to its wicked sense of humour. Although the film isn't a horror as such, the violence when it comes is hard hitting and very bloody, jarring the viewer back into the horrific world of serial killing. For a change it also has a highly satisfactory finale.
I really enjoyed Mr. Brooks. Highly recommended.
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