Review of Mr. Brooks (2007) by Deepak C — 09 Jan 2012

Wow. Just...wow. If Hitchcock were alive today, this is the movie he would have made. If I had to sum this movie up in one word: riveting. If given two words: spell binding.

Mr. Brooks is the story of a an battling addiction. His addiction just happens to be killing. I've never seen Kevin Costner this..."on." In fact, though I like the guy as a person...I didn't think he *could* act. All the other characters I've ever seen him attempt to play, have always been very one dimensional and flat. In this movie...he's completely different. It's as if he's finally found his calling, the perfect script in which to tap his own creative genius, which is pretty creepy considering he's playing a schizophrenic serial killer.

Demi Moore is excellent, as she always is. Honestly, I think she becomes a better, stronger actress with each role she plays. Hell, everyone in this movie is good. Strong actors, well-written suspense...the kind you truly can NOT guess what's coming next, with just enough sub-plots to make it interesting and yet not too many to be confusing, no gratuitous violence or un-necessary gore...and it all just worked.

Kevin Costner said "I've read about 4 perfect scripts in my life, and this is one of them." I agree. The acting was flawless, not just from Costner but the entire cast, and yet it would be nothing without a great script. In the "Making of..." they talked about having complete creative freedom because the film was made independently.

Could that be why this movie, like so many other truly REMARKABLE, WELL-MADE films, received so little press? I picked it up on a lark...I'd never heard of it before. There is something very broken about the Hollywood machine when brilliant movies like this pass by mostly un-noticed, and horrific craptastic slash-a-thons like "Texas Chainsaw, part 329" or "Grindhouse" ads get shoved in our faces 24/7.