MR. BROOKS

Earl Brooks is the owner of a box factory; a wealthy man, honorable citizen, affectionate father and husband. But Earl Brooks has a secret named Marshall, his second personality. When Earl is in the company of Marshall, he dedicates himself to murder, as Mr. Brooks is the elusive "fingerprint killer" that detective Atwood has been chasing for over 3 years. Hollywood is filled with films that tell stories of serial killers, there was a particular period, at the end of the 90s and the beginning of the third millennium, when the Fincherian John Doe imitators had literally invaded the screen, reaching that point of no return where to tell a thriller in an original way one had to mix the cards of the classic "Ten Little Indians" with schizophrenic twists as James Mangold did with "Identity". Director Bruce Evans ("Cop in Blue Jeans"), better known as a screenwriter and producer ("Stand by Me"; "Starman"), tries to revive the thriller with a psychopathic killer and directs "Mr. Brooks". Given the ridiculous results at the box office and the fierce criticisms of American critics, one would have expected the minimum from this film, and even more so looking at the cast of former Hollywood stars who in recent years have tried to regain visibility with negligible supernatural thrillers. And yet "Mr. Brooks" turns out to be a pleasant surprise, an anomalous and engaging thriller, almost original thanks to the bizarre approach with which it decides to address the serial killer theme. Although it is a choral story in which there is room for the police investigation, the film is built around the character who gives the title to the work, a mad and well-characterized protagonist, played by a Kevin Costner in great shape, here facing one of his best roles in a long time. To support (in every sense) the Costnerian Mr. Brooks is his alter ego Marshall, perhaps one of the happiest finds of the entire film, a William Hurt facing an anomalous role, a sort of tempting devil, distorted conscience that supervises and urges Earl to commit the murders that have made him one of the city's most wanted criminals. But Mr. Brooks' existence is rather complicated and not only because of his schizophrenia, in fact the suspicions of a "hereditary evil" that has been passed on to his daughter torment him and the blackmails of his young and irresponsible "apprentice" Mr. Smith constantly get him into trouble. What appears more happily balanced in Bruce Evans and Reynold Gideon's script is precisely the psychological construction of the character played by Costner, presented as a drug addict, or rather, convinced of being one; in fact even if Earl Brooks does not use drugs, he considers his "hobby" a real addiction that he tries to fight with forced periods of abstinence and group therapy sessions (in which he declares himself, obviously, a drug addict). Marshall naturally opens continuous gaps in Earl's mental balance, representing a sort of murderous talking cricket. But Brooks is as fierce and mad as sweet and loving with his family; fundamental is above all his relationship with his daughter Jane (Danielle Panabaker), perhaps destined to follow in the footsteps of paternal madness, or at least this is what Earl self-convinces himself after the murder accusations that fall on Jane. Less convincing in the film's script is the considerable relevance given to the personal vicissitudes of detective Atwood (a Demi Moore not properly perfect for the role), his marital vicissitudes and his parallel chase of an escaped criminal. These are elements functional to the story of Mr. Brooks (even if sometimes inserted with obvious forcedness) but that enrich the plot in a negative way, loading the film with subplots and sometimes distracting the viewer's attention from the main thread, with repercussions on the film's narrative fluidity. "Mr. Brooks" remains a product of excellent craftsmanship, certainly superior to the average of the numerous thrillers that periodically arrive from the American cinematic mecca; even lovers of splatter will have "meat" for their teeth, as the film does not skimp on unexpected excesses of hemoglobin. A film that would have deserved much more success and visibility.