History Film / MrBrooks

* SlashedThroat: Resulting from the ShovelStrike.

* VillainProtagonist: Brooks, with traces of AntiVillain.

* SerialKiller: Mr. Brooks is the "Thumbprint Killer", a prolific murderer who kills couples during intimate moments. "Smith" catches him and blackmails him into making him an apprentice. Ufortunately for Smith, even before he was the Thumbprint Killer, Brooks had a large and varied bodycount, and Smith ends up being not only one of his victims, but his fall guy.

* SerialKiller: Mr. Brooks. "Smith" catches him and blackmails him into making him an apprentice.

* DeadpanSnarker: Marshall, Brooks' id is constantly making sardonic comments.

* CriminalMindGames

* DeadpanSnarker: Marshall, Brooks' id.

* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:Brooks expected Smith to try and kill him, so he sabotaged the latter's trigger mechanism. Brooks had brought a spare gun in case he decided to let Smith kill him, but decides against it due to his impending grandparenthood.]]

* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:A particularly interesting one towards the end, involving "Smith"]].

* OutWithABang: Brooks often murders couples while they're having sex, or about to.

* AssholeVictim: Some - but not all - of the victims of Earl are either unsympathetic characters or outright [[JerkAss jerkasses]]. Subverted in that he mostly just kills innocent strangers that attract his interest in some undefined way.

Brooks does his best to resist his lethal addiction, frequently while being spurred on by "Marshall" (Creator/WilliamHurt), the psychological manifestation of Brooks' dark side whom only he can see. He manages to maintain this life relatively stably for many years until one day, after a relapse that leaves two people dead, Brooks is approached by an obnoxious, abrasive younger man going by "Mr. Smith" (Creator/DaneCook). "Smith" happened to witness Brooks committing the double-murder, photographed it, knows he's "the Thumbprint Killer", and wants to blackmail him.... but not for money.

* MrSmith: {{Played straight}} with Baffert, alias "Mr. Smith".

* TalkingToThemself: A particularly notable example. Mr. Brooks carries on long conversations with Marshall, who represents his urges to kill.

Earl Brooks (Creator/KevinCostner) is a popular, humble, successful man with a beautiful wife and daughter, a thriving private company and a highly respected record of philanthropy, for which he was recently named the Portland Chamber of Commerce "Man of the Year".

He's also one of the most prolific serial killers in American history, and no one has ever come close to suspecting him of it.

Brooks is still quite a good man in many ways, and does his best to resist his lethal urges, frequently while being spurred on by "Marshall" (Creator/WilliamHurt), the psychological manifestation of Brooks' dark side whom only he can see. He manages to maintain this life relatively stably for many years until one day, after a relapse that leaves two people dead, Brooks is approached by an obnoxious, abrasive younger man going by "Mr. Smith" (Creator/DaneCook). "Smith" happened to witness Brooks committing the double-murder, photographed it, knows he's the "Thumbprint Killer", and wants to blackmail him. However, not for money. "Smith" got a huge rush out of seeing Brooks' actions.... and wants to be taken along for the ride next time.

Tracy Atwood (Creator/DemiMoore), an extremely determined detective who has been attempting to solve Brooks's murders for years, seems to be getting closer, while going through a messy divorce and tracking another serial killer she previously caught, "the Hangman", who has now escaped. Brooks' family life is also getting more complicated as his daughter Jane (Creator/DaniellePanabaker) has just dropped out of college and moved back home, bringing an unexpected set of new problems with her.

Directed by Bruce A. Evans and released in 2007, ''Mr. Brooks'' is a coolly cerebral thriller filled with style and highly detailed substance, focusing on the skeletons we all have in our closets — and what we might do if they ever got out.

* AssholeVictim: Most of the victims of Earl are either unsympathetic characters or outright [[JerkAss jerkasses]]. [[spoiler: Especially, Mr. "Smith", who is not only a voyeur, but does not also report Earl to the police after having discovered that he is the Thumbprint Killer because he wants to blackmail Earl into help him to set up a random murder, just for the thrill]].

* BigFancyHouse: Brooks owns one befitting a box maker baron.

* CrazyPrepared: This is how he never gets caught. He stalks his victims, researches them, walks through their house. Finds out their plans, and after he kills them, he leaves no evidence behind:

* TheGlassesComeOff: When he's wearing his eyeglasses, he's Earl Brooks, a nice, friendly, generous businessman. When he's not wearing them, he's the very, very dangerous Thumbprint Killer.

* HateSink: Mr. Smith. While Brooks is presented as mostly sympathetic, and can be admired on some level for how brilliantly he plans everything out, Smith is arrogant, stupid, and an all-around sleazy scumbag.

* {{Hypocrite}}: If Earl is really desperately trying to stop killing, why doesn't he take the most obvious way out and just turn himself in? Also, he is shown to enjoy killing people to the point of having an ecstatic rapture when he does it and he is clearly proud that he is so good at throwing the police off his scent. Marshall often calls him out on his BS. Brooks does tell Smith that he doesn't want his family humiliated by his arrest and trial though.

Earl Brooks (Creator/KevinCostner) is a popular, humble, successful man with a beautiful wife and daughter, a thriving private company and a highly respected record of philanthropy, for which he was recently named the Portland Chamber Of Commerce' "Man of the Year".

He's also one of the most prolific serial killers in American history and no one has ever come close to suspecting him of it.

Tracy Atwood, an extremely determined detective (Creator/DemiMoore) who has been attempting to solve Brooks' murders for years seems to be getting closer, while going through a messy divorce and tracking another serial killer she previously caught, "the Hangman", who has now escaped. Brooks' family life is also getting more complicated as his daughter Jane (Creator/DaniellePanabaker) has just dropped out of college and moved back home, bringing an unexpected set of new problems with her.

''Mr. Brooks'' is a 2007 coolly cerebral thriller filled with style and highly detailed substance, focusing on the skeletons we all have in our closets — and what we might do if they ever got out.

An extremely determined detective (Creator/DemiMoore) who has been attempting to solve Brooks' murders for years seems to be getting closer, while going through a messy divorce and tracking another serial killer she previously caught, "the Hangman", who has now escaped. Brooks' family life is also getting more complicated as his daughter Jane (Creator/DaniellePanabaker) has just dropped out of college and moved back home, bringing an unexpected set of new problems with her.

* SequelHook: Unsurprisingly, since [[WordOfGod Costner and the makers confirmed in the DVD features]] that the film was originally conceived as the first of a "Brooks trilogy", there are many of them. Notably:
** It is implied [[spoiler: and lampshaded in the finale]] that Earl’s daughter Jane is planning to kill him and replace him as the head of the family company.
*** Jane also gives inconsistent versions of what happened to her car. Earl is quick to surmise that a critical piece of evidence linking her to the murder of a classmate must be hidden into the car, but this is not further elaborated upon and the fate of the car is never revealed.

*** When Atwood investigates the first murders committed by Earl in the film, she notes that he had been able to walk through the victims’ apartment in complete darkness, even avoiding to trip over and topple objects located in the midst of the most direct route to the master bedroom. The implication is that he was able to access and scout the premises before the murders. Understanding how he could have done it is a clear line of investigation that is not pursued further.

* SequelHook: The film has them. Also, Costner and the makers talk in the DVD features about the possibility of a "Brooks trilogy".

An extremely determined detective (Creator/DemiMoore) who has been attempting to solve Brooks' murders for years seems to be getting closer, while going through a messy divorce and tracking another serial killer she previously caught, "the Hangman", who has now escaped. Brooks' family life is also getting more complicated as his daughter has just dropped out of college and moved back home, bringing an unexpected set of new problems with her.

* InTheBlood: [[spoiler: Earl's daughter turns out to have the same urge to kill as he does.]] She's just not nearly as good at it.

* {{Hypocrite}}: If Earl is really desperately trying to stop killing, why doesn't he take the most obvious way out and just turn himself in? Also, he is shown to enjoy killing people to the point of having an ecstatic rapture when he does it and he is clearly proud that he is so good at throwing the police off his scent. Marshall often calls him out on his BS.
** Brooks does tell Smith that he doesn't want his family humiliated by his arrest and trial.

* JackTheRipoff: Mr. Brooks goes out of his way to commit a very similar murder to the one [[spoiler: his daughter commits]] in order to confuse the authorities.

* SplitPersonality: Deconstrued. Earl and Marshall are played by two different actors, so the old trope "two different minds inhabiting the same body" is not at work here. Many of the dialogues between Earl and Marshall are carried out in front of other characters, who do not hear Marshall's words, nor react with amazement at Earl talking to himself. So, it is clear that all of them actually happen in Earl's head. Finally, Earl is clearly conscious that Marshall is merely the projection of his own killer instincts and he never pretends that Marshall actually exists.
* SympatheticMurderer: Mr. Brooks, a kind, philanthropic loving family man who futily struggles with his desire to kill.