Review of Mr. Brooks (2007) by Julian T — 13 Dec 2011

I've had a rule about Kevin Costner for a while now. I think it started in the mid to late 90s. It's just one simple rule, and I have now broken it: If he's in it, don't even begin it. Normally I'd be ashamed of myself, like I am anytime I break my Wayans brother rule (if there's one, don't necessarily run, but if there's two, I must bid you adieu), but this was actually kind of good and I am flummoxed by that.

Costner and Hurt make a winning team, playing a rather nuanced, for the most part, version of what is often referred to as "good cop, bad cop." Or maybe we should call it "good serial murderer, bad serial murderer" to avoid confusion since there are literal "cops" in this flick.

What is so great about this pairing though is that Hurt is actually playing a part of Costner's character's psyche. He is the physical manifestation of Mr. Brooks' "dark passenger." We can see him too, but only as a tool to better tell the story.

In the reality of this film, he only exists within the mind of Mr. Brooks. Together they were rather creepy and entertaining enough to distract me from how flawed the other plot lines were, but not in a cheesy, over-the-top, pure-evil-incarnate sort of way.

I loved the moment in the car when they simultaneously laughed a tad maniacally and we see that they share the exact same wrinkles around their eyes and mouths. It reminds us that even though they look different, they are the same.

Without Hurt this would have seemed obvious and cliche, but with his character this film is saved from itself and from Dane Cook's horrible acting.