Sunday, June 29, 2008

MR BROOKS

It is really difficult to imagine why such a film was allowed to be made. Who greenlit it? On what basis?

The film does not have a backbone. There is no definite course of action. Who wants what? And why? These are not answered for most of the characters, except for Demi Moore's character. It is obvious what she wants, and she tries hard to get it.

But how about the protagonist? What does Mr. Brooks want? Nothing in particular. This may explain why the plot seems to wander, right until the end. He says he's addicted, and is fighting against it. But why did he come back after two years at the beginning of the film? Because the writer wanted him to. Because he needed an inciting incident.

And what does the wanna-be killer want? Just the thrill of watching people die? But why? He's only a peeping Tom, not a killer? And why doesn't Mr Books take care of him before it's too late. Questions without reasonable answers.

The greatest opportunity this script missed was the relationship between Demi Moore and Kevin Costner. Such a realtionship (you cannot call a single phone calla a realtionship) could have helped us understand both the killer and the police more deeply. But the writer did not chose to elaborate on this side of the story, which was a disappointment in my opinion.

All the problems of this film could have been fixed by a moderately skilled script doctor. Why didn't the producers opt to do so? Maybe because they didn't think it needed fixing in the first place.

Now they do!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i had a feeling Costner would make some kind of a comeback, he's not such a bad actor

gezgin said...

People find it hard to believe when they see Costner in parts other than the hero type. He must either be a good-hearted soldier as in "Wolves" or a silent guardian angel as in "Bodyguard". This is his destiny! Viewers do not react to him when he appears in roles like those in "Tin Cup" or "Waterworld", let alone "Mr. Brooks". He needs to ralize his strong suit: the positive, strong, somewhat alienated hero.