the Mind’s Chew Toy

While I wasn’t sure if Kevin Costner would be able to pull off the villain in his latest film, Mr. Brooks, the previews got me interested enough that I wanted to find out. Recently, with Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (2007) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) both on long wait at BlockBuster.com, Mr. Brooks was bumped up to first choice, so I was able to find out.

Kevin Costner usually plays the hero. Sometimes he plays it well (Dances With Wolves)….sometimes his star power just isn’t enough (Waterworld). Aside from A Perfect World - which owed it’s success more to Clint Eastwood’s directing skills rather than Costner’s performance - Kevin tends to stay away from the bad guy roles.

In Mr. Brooks, outward appearances seem to put his character squarely in the midst of those good guy roles…but in this film, the outward appearances are quickly stripped away to reveal a very dark side hidden underneath. This good guy turns out to be a very bad guy…and Costner does a good job with the role. While he’s more suited to the good guy side, his acting shows through, and lets him do a good job of riding the line between the personas as well.

He couldn’t have done the bad guy part without help though - and he gets that in spades, in the form of William Hurt. Hurt isn’t really known for his bad guy roles, either, but he proves he’s adept on either side of the fence with Mr. Brooks. When Costner falters, Hurt steps up the pace, coaxing Costner’s dark side out with each breath. The two play well off each other, and the viewer gets a more sinister bad guy than they might have originally been expecting.

The only problem, however, is that the viewer may not quite understand Hurt and Costner are two parts of the same person until well into the film. Instead, it seems that Hurt is more of the evil mastermind behind Costner’s Brooks. Only when others fail to spot Hurt when in the same room with the two of them will the viewer fully grasp the two are one. It’s unfortunate, as the confusion distracts the viewer from becoming more involved in the film at the beginning, which also distances them from the tension buildup the film is trying to create.

The other characters do a decent job, but pale in comparison to the Hurt/Costner combo. Dane Cook, as a reporter willing to explore his dark side, comes off realistic enough, but Demi Moore’s cop doesn’t get nearly enough screen time for the viewer to build up any attachment to her, thus negating most of her performance.

While the whole “nice guy is actually maniac” plot has been done before - and better - in American Psycho (by a much nastier Christian Bale), the film does pull in an intriguing subplot that brings into question the whole “nature vs. nurture” argument quite well.

Is he protecting his family with the latest kill, or is that just him justifying another excitement rush? That’s just one of the many questions the film leaves open when it comes to it’s rather pedantic conclusion. Raising more questions than it answers, it leaves the viewer a bit upset…and largely disappointed.

All in all, Mr. Brooks is worth a rental to see Hurt coax Costner to the dark side, but that’s about it. If you’re looking for a “good guy gone seriously bad” type film, American Psycho should still be your first bet - either in book or movie form.