Kevin Costner’s Mr. Brooks Remains Severely Underrated

During the ’90s, moviegoers were flooded with serial killer thrillers on a pretty frequent basis. Perhaps an early indication of the public’s fascination with true crime, these films enticed viewers with their twisted plots, depraved protagonists, and usually a good guy detective or two, hot on the case. There are classics such as The Silence of the Lambs or Se7en, but the time was also flooded with lesser but still worthy efforts, such as Kiss the Girls and The Bone Collector, to name a few.

By the time the 2000s were ushered in, these films had become less lucrative at the box office and weren’t released as frequently, but one snuck in that put a clever spin on the serial killer thriller formula. Released in 2007, Mr. Brooks saw Kevin Costner playing an unusually dark role with a compulsion to kill and an inner voice that is physically manifested by William Hurt that pushes him to engage in his darkest impulses. The film didn’t light up the box office and received mixed critical reviews, but in the years since its release, it has developed a devoted following from those who noticed its brilliance early on and those who randomly stumble upon it. It’s a cult that should be bigger because Mr. Brooks remains an underrated thriller worthy of more attention.

Kevin Costner as a Serial Killer in Mr. Brooks

Directed by Bruce A. Evans from a screenplay he co-wrote with Raynold Gideon, Mr. Brooks follows the titular character Earl Brooks (Costner), a businessman and devoted father and husband by day, and a serial killer known as the “Thumbprint Killer” by night. Earl has an alter ego that only he and the audience can see named Marshall (Hurt), who pushes him to commit murders that his normal self would typically reject.

Earl’s secret life is in danger of being exposed when a man calling himself “Mister Smith,” aka Graves Baffert (Dane Cook), begins to blackmail him with photos he took of Earl committing one of his crimes. Baffert’s blackmail doesn’t involve money. In fact, he wants Earl to take him on as his protégé and teach him the ways of the perfect kill. Complicating matters further is a detective named Tracy Atwood (Demi Moore), who reopens the investigation involving his past murders. The film also stars Marg Helgenberger and Danielle Panabaker.

Mr. Brooks Allows Kevin Costner to Play Against Type in a Rare Dark Role

Mr. Brooks’ crowning achievement happens to be Costner himself. As an actor, he has put in solid work as a stoic leading man, but this role allowed him to go to some dark and interesting places. It’s Costner’s safe, good-guy persona that allows the duplicity in the film to work. He’s more than believable as a family man devoted to being the best for his wife Emma (Helgenberger) and his college-aged daughter Jane (Panabaker) while also conveying the confidence of a shrewd and successful businessman.

You’re disarmed by him, which makes it all the more surprising when he has to showcase the darker aspects of his personality. He doesn’t play it with any scenery chewing, with him being particularly chilling because he’s so cold and meticulous about how he goes about his hidden life. It’s all very methodical, as it’s made clear during the film’s opening murder, which sees the actor coldly walking into the bedroom of a couple and gunning them down with calculated and expert-like precision. He’s a long way from Field of Dreams or The Bodyguard here, making this one of the most interesting performances of his career.

The battle between his two personalities and how it’s showcased on screen is an aspect that separates it from other serial killer thrillers. Earl is someone who is fighting an addiction and a compulsion he can’t shake, something that’s indicated in the text that appears on the screen before the movie opens that reads, “The hunger has returned to Mr. Brooks’ brain. It never really left.” Earl also frequently quotes the Serenity Prayer, an essential part of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” This prayer proves futile in suppressing Marshall, who represents all the evil things about Earl.

Marshall pushes him to his most deplorable compulsions, representing a form of addiction for Marshall himself. At one point, Marshall makes it clear that he lives through Earl, stating, “I like being alive. I like eating, I like f*******, and I like killing.” They can’t exist without each other, and as Earl puts that part of him away, he’s caught up in Baffert’s blackmail that forces him to allow Marshall to continue to exist. Some of the best scenes in the film take place between Costner and Hurt, presenting a push and pull that is twisted but also bordering on a level of respect. Marshall cares about Earl, likely only because he can’t exist otherwise, and Earl cares about Marshall because he also helps him escape the mundane routine of his normal life.

The stories operating on the periphery of Earl’s main story prove essential, even if they aren’t developed in the same way as Earl’s intricate personality. Comedian Dane Cook, essaying an against-type serious role, is highly effective as Baffert, someone who clearly has watched too many true-crime TV shows and movies and thinks killing someone is simple and clean. His involvement in the story goes beyond blackmail; it’s to show that some people are born with a need to kill (like Earl) and those who want to pretend (like Baffert). Earl entertains his blackmail until he realizes how to use it against him. He’s always a step ahead, and while the audience knows that, it’s entertaining to discover how Earl will turn the blackmail on its head.

Mr. Brooks’ Plot Threads Converge in a Clever Way

Then there’s Demi Moore’s detective character, which is essential in these sorts of movies but a bit too underdeveloped to reach the level of Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling. There is a relationship that develops between Earl and Tracy of sorts, as he respects her tenacity as a detective, even though she’s actively pursuing him. Her character is going through her own share of stress, from a bitter divorce from her ex-husband to another serial killer she once caught known as “The Hangman,” being on the loose with a distinct vow to kill her. These plots collide in a pretty clever way as the film draws to a climax, and even though the detective/serial killer psychology isn’t as deep here as in other films, it works for the story that this movie is selling.

Mr. Brooks was released on June 1, 2007, and while it wasn’t a flop by any means, it didn’t resonate at the box office enough to leave an impression. The film grossed $48.1 million globally on a $20 million budget, with $28.5 million of that coming from the domestic front. It was not a total misfire, but not enough to be truly remembered during its theatrical run. Critics were also mixed, with the film landing a 55% on Rotten Tomatoes with a consensus that reads, “The set-up is intriguing, but Mr. Brooks overstuffs itself with twists and sub-plots, becoming more preposterous as it goes along.” Critics missed the mark on this one, but they did correctly praise Costner and Hurt for their performances, believing them to be the highlight of the film.

Over the years, Mr. Brooks has developed a bit of a cult following, with many being surprised that they missed it during its initial run. An indication that it’s highly liked by people who have seen it is that it carries an impressive 7.3/10 on IMDB, rating higher than more financially successful serial killer efforts such as Kiss the Girls (6.6/10), The Bone Collector (6.7/10), and Hannibal (6.8/10). Mr. Brooks is a unique experience, and the real tragedy is that we’ll likely never get Bruce Evans’ planned trilogy for the film because it wasn’t quite successful enough. Despite this, the movie breaks the mold in all the right ways, hitting a level of originality from a sub-genre that can often become very familiar. Mr. Brooks is not available to stream at the time of writing.