A lot of movies make it fun to root for the villain. An example is Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: Even though we know he’s a pirate, he’s a likable character. Besides, at least he’s not as evil as those other pirates, right?
The new movie Mr. Brooks follows another anti-hero, but this guy has more in common with Hannibal Lecter than Jack Sparrow. Outwardly all seems well (good family, successful business) but inwardly he hides a secret: he’s a serial killer. Though his acts are morally wicked, the movie audience is made to empathize with Brooks because he is likable and has a conscience: he knows his behavior is wrong. He wants to change, but is tantalized by “Marshall”, the proverbial devil on his shoulder who whispers temptations in his ear.
What can we say about Mr. Brooks’ predicament? In some ways of thinking, the notion of “karma” would mean that his life is so far gone to the dark side that there’s no hope of redemption. But in others, there may yet be hope for a person like him. Is there hope for him? For that matter, is there hope for any of us?
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I think many people believe that if we empathize with someone who has committed a crime like murder, then that means we’ve accepted what they’ve done as okay. This is not the case. We can recognize that Mr. Brooks is human and care about him as a human being, but allow him to pay the consequences for his actions.
Any really good character in movies or books has to be someone we can relate to. Mr. Brooks fits that description. Not that everyone is some kind of serial killer – but when it comes right down to it there are a lot of things we do that we *know* we shouldn’t! Can we blame it on our own private Marshall?