History Film / MrBrooks

%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

* AssholeVictim: Most of the victims of Earl are either unsympathetic characters or outright [[Trope/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]].

* 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.

%%* AssholeVictim: Several, but likely not all, of Mr. Brooks' victims.

''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.

* IfIWantedYouDead: Brooks surprises Smith in the night to tell him when and where to meet him to kill someone. Brooks states this word for word.

* LastNameBasis: "Mr. Smith"/Mr. Baffert is only referred to as such during the film. Towards the end, if you [[FreezeFrameBonus pause the DVD and look at]] [[spoiler: the newspaper in the coffee shop scene, you can see his first name is, amusingly, [[MeaningfulName Graves]].]]

* AssholeVictim: Several, but likely not all, of Mr. Brooks' victims.

%%* PsychoticSmirk

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

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

%%* CriminalMindGames

%%* DoubleConsciousness
%%* EvilTastesGood: "The hunger"
%%* FlawExploitation: And "Smith" has so many flaws indeed....

* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler: Subverted and Played straight with the ''same bit of foreshadowing'', as Earl is correct to assume his daughter is a murderer, but the scene where she murders him as well turns out to be AllJustADream]]
%%* GollumMadeMeDoIt
* HollywoodSilencer: Averted. Brooks distinctive handgun sounds quite realistic.

%%* ImaginaryFriend: Marshall.

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

* MrSmith: Played straight with Baffert, alias "Mr. Smith".
%%* MrViceGuy: Mr. Earl Brooks.

%%* SympatheticMurderer: Earl Brooks, heartbreakingly so.
%%* TalkingToThemself: A particularly notable example.
%%* ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil: Basically the concept of the film.

* TheAtoner: Brooks persistently tries.

* ImaginaryFriend: Marshall.

* SelfMadeMan: Earl Brooks founded the highly successful Brooks Boxes, without even going to college.

* BigFancyHouse

-->Det. Atwood: "He vacuumed the house, and took the bag."
-->Det. Snyder: "What if he killed somebody that didn't have a vacuum cleaner?"
-->Det. Atwood: "He wouldn't do that."
* CriminalMindGames

* DoubleConsciousness
* EvilTastesGood: "The hunger"
* FlawExploitation: And "Smith" has so many flaws indeed....

* GollumMadeMeDoIt

* IfIWantedYouDead

* LivingLieDetector: Brooks, often manifesting through Marshall.

* MrViceGuy: Mr. Earl Brooks.

* ThePerfectCrime
* PsychoticSmirk

* SerialKiller: Several.
* SerialKillerKiller: Subverted in a number of ways.

* SympatheticMurderer: Earl Brooks, heartbreakingly so.
* TalkingToThemself: A particularly notable example.
* ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil: Basically the concept of the film.

* TropaholicsAnonymous
* UnspokenPlanGuarantee

* VillainsOutShopping

* AllJustADream: The ending where Brooks [[spoiler: is killed by his daughter]]

* AssholeVictim - Several, but likely not all, of Mr. Brooks' victims.
* TheAtoner - Brooks persistently tries.
* BatmanGambit - [[spoiler:A particularly interesting one towards the end, involving "Smith"]].

* BlackComedy - Never fully, but there are inherent touches of it throughout the film, especially in the Brooks-Marshall-Smith relationship.
* CallingCard - Brooks' victims are typically left in intimate, lifelike poses and a bloody thumbprint from each of them is left on a nearby surface post-mortem, hence him being known to police and the public as the Thumbprint Killer.
* 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:

* DeadpanSnarker - Marshall, Brooks' id.

* FlawExploitation - And "Smith" has so many flaws indeed....

* HollywoodSilencer - Averted. Brooks distinctive handgun sounds quite realistic.

* ImaginaryFriend - Marshall.

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

* MrSmith - Played straight with Baffert, alias "Mr. Smith".
* MrViceGuy - Mr. Earl Brooks.
* NonIdleRich - Tracy Atwood inherited millions, but is still devoted to her career as a hard-working homicide detective. Brooks greatly admires this.
* OutWithABang - Brooks often murders couples while they're having sex, or about to.

* SeenItAll - It becomes increasingly obvious in how he behaves around "Smith" that Brooks has seen an awful lot.
* SelfMadeMan - Earl Brooks founded the highly successful Brooks Boxes, without even going to college.

* SerialKiller - Several.
* SerialKillerKiller - Subverted in a number of ways.
* SequelHook - The film has them. Also, Costner and the makers talk in the DVD features about the possibility of a "Brooks trilogy".
* SympatheticMurderer - Earl Brooks, heartbreakingly so.
* TalkingToThemself - A particularly notable example.
* ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil - Basically the concept of the film.
* TragicVillain - Brooks vehemently tries to overcome his addiction to murder, with occasional periods of success.

* VillainProtagonist - Brooks, with traces of AntiVillain.

* WellDoneSonGuy - Atwood's father was very disappointed that she was born a girl, and he let her know it, so she has spent her whole life trying to prove him wrong.

* PlayingAgainstType - Dane Cook, stand-up comedian and comic actor, as the bitter douchebag "Smith", although he made sure to incorporate some of his signature brand of obnoxiousness.
** Also in the case of Danielle Panabaker, an actress mostly known for Disney movies playing a murder suspect.
** To say nothing of ''[[Creator/KevinCostner Kevin "Field Of Dreams" Costner]]'' playing a serial killer!

** All of the main characters essentially qualify.

* SpecialEffectsFailure: The film has a noticeable scene where Brooks has a glass of milk that alternates between being half-full to full in different shots after starting half-full

** Some would say that Cook playing a pathetic individual such as "Smith" requires little acting for him....

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" (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.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mr-brooks-poster-1_9857.jpg
[[caption-width:337:"I don't enjoy killing, Mr. Smith. I do it because I'm ''addicted'' to it. "]]

-->''"The hunger has returned to Mr. Brooks' brain. It never really left."''

Earl Brooks (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".

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" (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" (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.

An extremely determined detective (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.

** To say nothing of ''[[KevinCostner Kevin "Field Of Dreams" Costner]]'' playing a serial killer!

This is only the tip of the iceberg, as an extremely determined detective (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.