Four out of
Five stars
Running time:
120 mins
With a terrific cast and a superb script, this is a hugely enjoyable suspense thriller of the sort that they really don't make anymore.
What's it all about?
Kevin Costner plays Earl Brooks, a successful businessman and respected pillar of the community with a loving wife (Marg Helgenberger) and a devoted daughter (Danielle Panabaker). However, Earl is also hiding a terrible secret: he's an accomplished serial killer known as The Thumbprint Killer, with an evil alter ego (William Hurt as Marshall) that only Earl can see or hear.
After a two year break, Marhsall is once again urging Earl to kill, but this time something goes wrong – an amateur photographer (Dane Cook) witnesses Earl's latest murder and blackmails him with a macabre request. Meanwhile, tenacious detective Tracy Atwood (Demi Moore) edges closer and closer to the truth.
The Good
Costner is brilliantly cast as Earl – he should definitely play more psychopaths. It's a terrific performance because, as with the best Hitchcock thrillers, you actually sympathise with Earl and hope that he doesn't get caught.
Moore is equally good as the scrappy detective and there's great support from a deeply creepy William Hurt. Similarly, while Dane Cook's character and performance are both annoying, the filmmakers seem at least partially aware of just how annoying he is.
The Great
Director Bruce A Evans keeps things ticking along at a decent pace, juggling several different characters and orchestrating some terrifically suspenseful sequences. The violence is handled well too – it's effective and brutal without being glamorised or over the top.
The script is excellent too, creating fascinating characters and throwing up some genuinely intriguing twists. The plot may be pure trash, but at least it's thoroughly enjoyable trash – indeed, it's hard to remember the last time a trashy Hollywood thriller was this much fun.
Worth seeing?
Mr Brooks is a well written, superbly acted and hugely enjoyable thriller that, for once, is genuinely thrilling. Hitchcock would be proud. Highly recommended.