I found the movie particularly disturbing initially but later the emotional display and story line was one all can relate to. It definitely, would not make it to my list of best movies of the century!
Mr Brooks (Costner), a celebrated businessman from Portland is feted in a congratulatory dinner for being the businessman of the year. After returning from the dinner and tucking his wife to bed, he retires to his 'studio' and drives off to killed off a couple who were in midst of passionate lovemaking. He cleans up the crime scene and leaves behind the victim's blood stained thumbprint! You see, Mr Brooks is a serial killer dubbed the 'Thumbprint Killer'!
Accompanying Mr Brooks all around is his id (William Hurt)- only visible to him, communicates and even argues with him but of course nobody else can see that. All others see is like Mr Brooks is in deep thought!
The 'Thumbprint Killer" has been terrorizing the city for a long time as Mr Brooks had managed to suppress his inner desire to kill and attending sessions of Alcoholic Anonymous. His last outing happened when he succumbed to the demands of his id! Unfortunately, his last killing was witnessed by a peeping tom voyageur, Mr Smith, who started blackmailing Mr Brooks; not for money but to include him for his next expedition!
About the same time, Mr Brook's daughter returns home from university saying that she is pregnant and wants to discontinue her education. Things get complicated when cops turn up at their home to interview his daughter after one of her dormitory mates is murdered. Paternal instincts make Brooks think that there is more than meets the eye and suspects that his killing genes may have been passed to her.
In order to divert the attention of the police, Brooks goes over to his daughter's campus (another state) to commit a similar type of killing (as the dorm mate) to confuse the cops into thinking that they were dealing with a serial killer and keep his daughter off the hook!
In the other side of town, a lady cop (Detective Atwood) rich in inheritance, is at wits end dealing with the 'Thumbprint Killer', her ex-husband and divorce negotiations.There is also a escaped convict who is out for her blood.
After much prodding, blackmailing and delay tactics, Smith and Brooks choose their next victim who turned out to be the detective's ex-beau. Fearing that he was close to apprehension and fearing the humiliation that the family would receive, Mr Brooks was toying the idea of planning an elaborate ploy to get himself killed by Smith after the last outing.
Mr Smith turned out to be an embarrassment at the swan song killing. The excitement made him pee in his pants, leaving valuable DNA for the cops. (Mr Smith would be concluded to be the 'Thumbprint Killer') So change of plans - Mr Brooks shoots Smith in a dug cemetery in a plot he owns, buries his double life and starting life as a soon to be grandfather but at the back of his mind always fearing that his beloved daughter may one day turn out to be a ruthless serial killer like him!
Well, after watching so many silent movies and black and white movies of late, it was treat to stimulate the cone receptors again by watching things in true advanced cinematographic vision. So what is the take home message? That serial killers too have moral dilemma and moral obligations?
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