Mr. Brooks (2007)
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A celebrated businessman must balance his public life with his secret identity as a serial killer while being blackmailed into taking on a protégé.
The story
Earl Brooks is a respected businessman in Portland, Oregon, who leads a secret life as a serial killer known as the "Thumbprint Killer." Despite his efforts to curb his "killing addiction," he succumbs to his id, Marshall, and murders a young couple. His life becomes increasingly perilous when a driven police officer, Detective Tracy Atwood, reopens the investigation into his crimes. Simultaneously, Brooks's daughter unexpectedly arrives home, and he is approached by a man named "Mister Smith" who demands to accompany him during a murder, forcing Brooks to navigate a web of blackmail, family secrets, and escalating violence.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Earl Brooks, a respected businessman in Portland, Oregon, leads a secret life as a serial killer known as the "Thumbprint Killer." He follows a meticulous modus operandi, including posing bodies and reciting the Serenity Prayer. While Detective Tracy Atwood investigates the murders, she discovers that another killer, Thornton Meeks (The Hangman), has escaped prison and is stalking her. Brooks's daughter, Jane, arrives home and reveals she is pregnant; later, Brooks discovers she committed a murder and, to provide her an alibi, commits a similar crime in Palo Alto. A man named "Mister Smith" demands to accompany Brooks on a murder after photographing one of his crimes. Brooks agrees, eventually murdering Smith's lover and husband. During a subsequent murder, Smith panics and holds Brooks at gunpoint. Brooks admits to being suicidal but decides to live to see his grandchild; he kills Smith and hides the body in an open grave. Because Smith's urine is the only DNA evidence, the investigation moves off Brooks's trail. Atwood eventually faces The Hangman, who commits suicide after a shootout. Brooks anonymously calls Atwood, and the film ends with Brooks reciting the Serenity Prayer after a nightmare about Jane.
- First release year
- 2007
- Runtime (minutes)
- 120
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Bruce A. Evans
- Writers
- Bruce A. Evans · writer; Raynold Gideon · writer
- Cast and characters
- Kevin Costner · Earl Brooks/The Thumbprint Killer; Demi Moore · Detective Tracy Atwood; Dane Cook · Graves Baffert/Mr Smith; William Hurt · Marshall, Brooks's alter ego; Marg Helgenberger · Emma Brooks; Ruben Santiago-Hudson · Detective Hawkins; Danielle Panabaker · Jane Brooks; Aisha Hinds · Nancy Hart
- Genres
- psychological thriller
- Themes
- Identity; Addiction; Family Secrets; Psychopathology
- Tone and mood
- Dark; Suspenseful; Psychological
- Premise and plot tags
- Serial Killer; Psychological Thriller; Crime; Blackmail
- Franchise connections
- Planned trilogy
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and audiences, grossing $48.1 million against a $20 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 56% · review count: 158; Metacritic · score: 45 · scale: 100 · review count: 34
- Awards and nominations
- World Soundtrack Award · Discovery of the Year · 2007 · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was intended to be the first of a trilogy.; The character of Marshall was intended to be killed in a second film and resurrected in a third.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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