Review: Costner redeems career in thriller ‘Mr. Brooks’

Directed by: Bruce A. Evans

Starring: Kevin Costner, William Hurt, Dane Cook, Demi Moore, Marg Helgenberger, Danielle Panabaker

Rated: R

Many people had written Kevin Costner off as being washed up. After a string of bad performances in even worse films, many an actor’s career would have ended.

But even films like “The Postman” and “Waterworld” couldn’t destroy him, and in 2005 Costner managed a worthy comeback as (of all things) a washed-up, alcoholic ex-major league baseball player in Mike Binder’s “The Upside of Anger.” (Costner seems to land a lot of “baseball” roles: “Bull Durham,” “Field of Dreams,” “For the Love of the Game.”)

As Portland, Ore.’s “Man of the Year” Earl Brooks in Bruce A. Evans’ new film, “Mr. Brooks,” Costner sinks his teeth into quite possibly the juiciest role of his career. Earl isn’t your run-of-the-mill movie hero, but let’s not forget how audiences loved Anthony Hopkins’ portrayal of Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs” and its sequels. Costner manages to gain a good deal of audience sympathy (and even some empathy) for the tormented, dual-personalitied Earl.

The film opens at a testimonial dinner for Earl, one of Portland’s most renowned citizens. He’s a wealthy entrepreneur, philanthropist, family man and all-around upstanding citizen – or at least that’s what the folks in Portland believe. And they are right, to a degree. But as we soon see, there’s a lot more to Earl than meets the eye.

On the drive home from the dinner with his beautiful, loving wife, Earl suddenly begins a conversation with a man named Marshall sitting in the backseat. Mrs. Brooks doesn’t seem to notice. Director Evans freezes time for everyone but Earl, Marshall and the viewer whenever they are conversing. It seems a little awkward at first but it becomes a powerful device as the film unfolds.

Marshall, who is the manifestation of Earl’s “dark side,” is played to the intensely creepy hilt by William Hurt. Marshall tells Earl they have to have some fun again. “Fun” is murder. Besides being its man of the year, Earl is also Portland’s Thumbprint Killer, a serial murderer who has taken a vacation for a couple of years. Earl has been going to Alcoholics Anonymous. He’s not an alcoholic but does have an addiction: murder.

This time, Earl loses his battle and relapses. He and Marshall kill a young couple in the act of making love. Earl, who is ever-so-meticulous, makes a mistake this time. The curtains were open in the couple’s bedroom, and a voyeur neighbor has photos of Earl in the act.

Dane Cook plays Mr. Smith, the peeping neighbor, and he approaches Earl with the photos. The twist is that Smith doesn’t want to blackmail Earl for money. He wants to accompany him on his next outing as the Thumbprint Killer. Marshall gets a big kick out of this, and Earl, who has vowed that the previous double homicide was to be the end of his career, is faced with having to do one more murder or be exposed by Mr. Smith.

This leads to an intricate setup with some nice twists and turns along the way.

A parallel story in “Mr. Brooks” follows police detective Tracy Atwood (Demi Moore), a woman who has inherited $60 million but still decided to be a cop. She has been on the case of the Thumbprint Killer for a number of years and thought – because of the recent lack of activity – he was in jail or, hopefully, dead. Atwood is also going through a very ugly divorce from her gold-digging young husband and, to top it off, a crazed, steroid-junkie killer she put behind bars has recently escaped and has vowed to seek revenge on the detective.

Besides his troubles in the serial killing business, Earl is having some problems in his normal life as well. His daughter has dropped out of college, come back home and announced she’s pregnant. Marshall tells Earl there’s more to it than the girl is admitting, and this proves to be true when police show up investigating a murder that happened just before the daughter dropped out of school. This subplot goes down a chilling, unexpected road. The love of a parent toward a child is a strong force, indeed.

Evans deftly weaves all of these tales together, bringing Earl in contact with Atwood’s estranged husband, the killer who’s stalking her and the school his daughter attended. There are a few instances when the viewer may have to suspend disbelief somewhat but, for the most part, the plot stays reasonably plausible.

Film buffs will note that Costner and Hurt have worked together before. Costner played Alex, the suicide victim who brought the old friends back together, in “The Big Chill.” When that film was released, all of Costner’s scenes were on the proverbial cutting-room floor. In “Mr. Brooks,” Costner and Hurt have a lot of on-screen time together, and the effect is chilling.

The film is director Evans’ first in 15 years, following “Kuffs” in 1992. He’s learned a lot about telling a story since then and manages to keep this thriller taut and tense throughout.

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.