Earl Brooks is a respectable man. He is also a serial killer. That tension drives Mr. Brooks, a 2007 crime thriller that wants to be a tense study of compulsion and a chase movie and a family drama, and mostly settles for a chase movie with a compulsion problem.
Kevin Costner plays Brooks, a Portland businessman whose killings are ritualistic, precise, and almost tender in their care. Each victim gets a bloody thumbprint left on a lampshade, a signature that gives the killer his nickname. Brooks is not a monster so much as a man with a habit he cannot stop, a man who recites the Serenity Prayer to calm himself after he has done it.
The film is built around that tension. Brooks tries to quit. He fails. He hides. He lies. And when his daughter Jane (Danielle Panabaker) returns home pregnant and implicated in a murder, he commits another killing to give her an alibi. That decision sets the engine of the film in motion.
Trailer, via Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers.
The Alter Ego Problem
Marshall is the problem. Played by William Hurt, he is Brooks’s bloodthirsty alter ego, the id that pushes Brooks toward violence even when he wants to stop. Their relationship is the core of the film, and Hurt plays Marshall as a calm, almost paternal presence who convinces Brooks that his habit is worth indulging.
The dynamic works better in theory than in practice. Hurt is good, but the script leans on Marshall’s moralizing to explain Brooks’s behavior rather than letting the character’s psychology breathe. Marshall is less a threat than a lecture in human form.
The Detective Chasing Him
Demi Moore plays Tracy Atwood, a Portland homicide detective who has trailed the Thumbprint Killer for years. She is determined, smart, and unyielding, and the film spends a good deal of time establishing her obsession with catching Brooks.
The chase scenes are where the film finds its rhythm. Brooks is fast, clever, and always one step ahead. The film keeps the tension high through the middle stretch, and the cat-and-mouse game between Atwood and Brooks is the best part of the picture.
The Protégé Arrives
Then Mr. Smith shows up. Played by Dane Cook, Smith is a man who saw Brooks kill a couple and now wants to join him. Brooks takes him on reluctantly, warning him about the danger of the habit.
Smith is the film’s biggest misstep. Cook plays him as a nervous, comic foil, and the film treats their partnership as a dark comedy rather than a horror. The tone shifts are jarring, and the film loses focus whenever Smith is on screen.
The Family Complication
Jane’s return is the emotional heart of the film. She has dropped out of college, arrived home unexpectedly, and is pregnant. Brooks loves her, but he is also terrified that she will become what he is.
The film handles the family tension with a light touch. Brooks contemplates letting Jane be caught to “save her.” Then he changes his mind and kills again to protect her. The logic is thin, but the performance carries it.
The Supporting Cast
Marg Helgenberger plays Emma Brooks, Earl’s wife. She knows what he does, and she lives with it. The film gives her a few quiet scenes, but she is a background figure rather than a driving force.
Reiko Aylesworth plays Sheila, and Matt Schulze plays Meeks. Jason Lewis plays Jesse Vialo, and Yasmine Delawari plays Sunday. None of them get enough room to matter.
The Chase Climbs
The film builds toward a finale that depends on a twist involving Jane’s involvement in the crime. Brooks commits a second killing to protect her, and the film asks the audience to believe that a father would commit murder to save his daughter from being caught.
It is a big ask, and the film does not earn it. The setup is rushed, and the payoff feels hollow.
What Works
- The performances by Costner and Hurt, especially in their scenes together.
- The early chase sequences, which are genuinely tense.
- The attention to detail in Brooks’s ritualistic killings.
- The film’s willingness to treat Brooks as a tragic figure rather than a villain.
What Does Not Work
- The introduction of Mr. Smith, which drags the tone down and confuses the central conflict.
- The handling of Jane’s involvement in the crime, which is underexplained and rushed.
- The resolution, which asks the audience to accept a sacrifice the film has not earned.
- The pacing in the middle stretch, which slows the momentum of the chase.
Key Facts
- Runtime: 120 minutes
- Genres: Crime, Thriller
- Released: June 1, 2007
- Distributor: MGM Distribution Co.
- Budget: $20 million
- Gross: $48.1 million
Final Word
Mr. Brooks is a film that understands its premise but struggles to execute it. The chase scenes are tense, the performances are strong, and the film’s attempt to humanize its killer is brave. But the introduction of Mr. Smith, the rushed handling of Jane’s crime, and the underearned finale keep it from greatness.
The film is worth seeing for Costner’s performance alone. Beyond that, it is a mixed bag.
Score: 4.5 of 10.
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