Now usually I avoid any film that has Kevin Costner in the credits, but the premise of Mr. Brooks was far too interesting to pass up. To my surprise, Costner’s performance is welcoming. He does not try to be a showstopper, but merely plays the part with a quiet dignity. William Hurt plays his alter ego, the voice in his head that tells him to kill. We all have demons, but in this case, Mr. Brooks’ takes a physical form. He even has a name: Marshall. I was skeptical at first, thinking this character would only get in the way of the progress of the story, but it becomes quite an amusing addition to the film. Mr. Brooks has full-on conversations with Marshall in front of other people, but since they cannot see their exchange, Mr. Brooks is just a space cadet.
The other players are not as exhilarating, but they do their best. Dane Cook is out of character, in a genre he is not yet comfortable with. His transition into serious acting is not as smooth as comedians who have preceded him, but he is not altogether horrible. He portrays his character’s desire for excitement with some degree of subtlety. Still, he does find time to be his normal self, flopping around and making strange noises whenever he gets into a pickle. Demi Moore is not bad, but she’s not great either. Why the director chose to cast a big name in such a small role is beyond me.
It is not so much Moore’s performance that irks me, but the character she plays, Det. Tracy Atwood, and how much screen time she is given. Her subplot has its purposes, to an effect, but ultimately we could have done without her back story. Someone is trying to kill her, her husband wants all her inheritance money…who cares? The kidnapping and the gun fight make for sub par action scenes but they are seemingly out of place in a psychological thriller. And, since she is not the lead character, we do not feel for her, and the tension and anxiety that one would normally feel from such scenes is simply not present.
One cannot help but ask why Atwood is in the film as much as she is. If her role was reduced, it could allow for more back story on Mr. Brooks, who is the real reason why people chose to view this film. If someone wanted to hear about all the problems and burdens of being a cop, one could just turn on Network television. People who want to see Mr. Brooks want to hear the killer’s motivations, first kill, rituals, and so on. They do not want to hear about how an overworked detective with a silver spoon is getting robbed by her greedy ex-husband. That’s what soap operas are made of.
All the same, the film is still compelling, and serves up all the thrills that it promises. There’s always a lot going on, and the burdens pile up for Mr. Brooks, as he has to deal with an overzealous detective, a rebellious teenage daughter with a terrible secret, an irritating photographer who has the goods on him, and of course, a homicidal alter ego. And the film is not without its twists. Even the twists have twists, and they will keep your head spinning until everything folds into place; but even then you’re never fully at rest. The suspense will have your heart pounding, even when you have a slight idea as to what is going to happen, because right when you think you know, you in fact have no idea.
With all the events that build up and lead to the anticipated dialogue between Atwood and Brooks, hunter and the hunted, the viewer is left with great expectations that are never met. There is nothing gained, no new insight; just the ramblings of a female cop who always had something to prove. The final exchange between Brooks and Atwood may be disappointing, but the closing moments of the film are satisfying enough to make up for it. If you’re searching for a cinematic version of Dexter, or a film about what makes a serial killer, look somewhere else. This isn’t that film. It’s the kind of film that will stay with you for a few days (assuming you don’t watch a lot of movies), but you wont find yourself running to the video store to buy it.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Knowing
Nicolas Cage's latest outing in futuristic thriller Knowing proves that he still has the eminence to rake in the big money...as long as he cuts his hair. With an estimated budget of $50 million, the film earned threefold at the box office, earning twice that of Cage’s previous sci-fi film “Next” and crushing the lackluster “Bangkok Dangerous”, which earned less than its production budget.[1][2] In both these films, Cage lets his long locks do the talking, but the only thing they tell us is that Nicolas Cage is not just committing a crime of fashion.
As far as his performance goes, well, it is hard to judge a man’s acting ability when the script tells him to hit a tree with a baseball bat and scream at aliens. He does his best to keep it together, and when it comes to freaking out and panicking, Nicolas Cage knows his stuff. Cage plays John Koestler, a professor at MIT who discovers a pattern in a series of numbers that predict world disasters. He convinces us to feel the overwhelming anxiety that comes with knowing when the world is going to end, but the frantic behavior and incessant harassment towards complete strangers makes us doubt his character’s sanity. Telling a woman you just met that her dead mother predicted the impending apocalypse is a lot to swallow, but Koestler approaches the situation as if it is a daily occurrence. Cage talks loud, chases blonde supermen into the woods, and attacks trees with baseball bats. Apparently no one told him that “Wicker Man” was done filming.
But the absurdity of Koestler’s irrational behavior cannot be put on Cage, for it is the script that has him doing such ridiculous things. In the writers’ defense, the other characters seem normal enough. The female lead, Diana Wayland, is played by Rose Byrne, who gives a surprisingly normal performance. She chooses to leave behind the weirdness she often brings to characters, and play a generic woman scared for her child’s life. The script is believable, but typical, as no one heeds the warnings that Koestler delivers. What? The FBI doesn’t take orders from anonymous men in phone booths?
Nevertheless, everyone eventually becomes aware of the impending disaster, and it’s at this point that the audience knows what will happen. This leaves us waiting for the world to end, and all the fire and explosions that one can handle. Though there are very few action sequences, it is enough to keep the viewer amused until the final explosive event, which is satisfying enough to compete with any Michael Bay film.
This is a thriller, after all, which makes it odd that the entire buildup leads to an effects-driven climax. Regardless, the film does have its thrills and chills, if one could call them that. The film has a creepy vibe to it, such as when the “whisperers” appear every so often with their psychotic stares, but after a few visits their scares become routine. The film leaves us with questions, but I’m not sure they are the questions that the filmmakers want to be asked. For instance, what is with the black pebbles? Their purpose is never revealed. Such a thing will only anger viewers and force them to search for the “true meaning” on online message boards. Or how come Caleb Koestler has a hearing aid? At first you think it helps him hear the “whisperers”, but then Abby Wayland hears them too. Was it so that Caleb and his father can have that cool sign thing together? Maybe it’ll catch on.
Overall, the film is viewable. It’ll most likely keep you entertained for a couple of hours, and when it comes down to it, that’s all we really want. We just want to escape reality, but the thing is, this reality is a lot scarier than our own. It’s gripping enough to keep us watching and keep us guessing, but only for so long. You want to know what happens, but it gets to the point in the film where you just want it to end so you can get on with your own apocalypse-free life.
[1] http://knowing-trailer.blogspot.com/2008/12/nicolas-cage-knowing-movie-trailer.html
[2] http://www.boxofficemojo.com/
As far as his performance goes, well, it is hard to judge a man’s acting ability when the script tells him to hit a tree with a baseball bat and scream at aliens. He does his best to keep it together, and when it comes to freaking out and panicking, Nicolas Cage knows his stuff. Cage plays John Koestler, a professor at MIT who discovers a pattern in a series of numbers that predict world disasters. He convinces us to feel the overwhelming anxiety that comes with knowing when the world is going to end, but the frantic behavior and incessant harassment towards complete strangers makes us doubt his character’s sanity. Telling a woman you just met that her dead mother predicted the impending apocalypse is a lot to swallow, but Koestler approaches the situation as if it is a daily occurrence. Cage talks loud, chases blonde supermen into the woods, and attacks trees with baseball bats. Apparently no one told him that “Wicker Man” was done filming.
But the absurdity of Koestler’s irrational behavior cannot be put on Cage, for it is the script that has him doing such ridiculous things. In the writers’ defense, the other characters seem normal enough. The female lead, Diana Wayland, is played by Rose Byrne, who gives a surprisingly normal performance. She chooses to leave behind the weirdness she often brings to characters, and play a generic woman scared for her child’s life. The script is believable, but typical, as no one heeds the warnings that Koestler delivers. What? The FBI doesn’t take orders from anonymous men in phone booths?
Nevertheless, everyone eventually becomes aware of the impending disaster, and it’s at this point that the audience knows what will happen. This leaves us waiting for the world to end, and all the fire and explosions that one can handle. Though there are very few action sequences, it is enough to keep the viewer amused until the final explosive event, which is satisfying enough to compete with any Michael Bay film.
This is a thriller, after all, which makes it odd that the entire buildup leads to an effects-driven climax. Regardless, the film does have its thrills and chills, if one could call them that. The film has a creepy vibe to it, such as when the “whisperers” appear every so often with their psychotic stares, but after a few visits their scares become routine. The film leaves us with questions, but I’m not sure they are the questions that the filmmakers want to be asked. For instance, what is with the black pebbles? Their purpose is never revealed. Such a thing will only anger viewers and force them to search for the “true meaning” on online message boards. Or how come Caleb Koestler has a hearing aid? At first you think it helps him hear the “whisperers”, but then Abby Wayland hears them too. Was it so that Caleb and his father can have that cool sign thing together? Maybe it’ll catch on.
Overall, the film is viewable. It’ll most likely keep you entertained for a couple of hours, and when it comes down to it, that’s all we really want. We just want to escape reality, but the thing is, this reality is a lot scarier than our own. It’s gripping enough to keep us watching and keep us guessing, but only for so long. You want to know what happens, but it gets to the point in the film where you just want it to end so you can get on with your own apocalypse-free life.
[1] http://knowing-trailer.blogspot.com/2008/12/nicolas-cage-knowing-movie-trailer.html
[2] http://www.boxofficemojo.com/
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