"Mr. Brooks" -- More Proof that AA Does Not Work

One movie that focuses on Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Step Recovery, Mr. Brooks, follows the double lift of a businessman who by day cherishes his family and runs a reputable business, but by night engages in serial murder.

The whole narrative rests on the revelation, which Mr. Earl Brooks (played by Kevin Costner) shares with his doppelganger evil alter-ego (played by William Hurt): He's an addict; he has to kill people.

In some scenes in the movie, Mr. Brooks attends AA meetings in churches, where he introduces himself and tells people, "Hi, My Name is Earl . . ., and I am an addict.

I had not seen this movie for years, but I remember enjoying the tortured conscience of the respectable businessman on the outside, who had to reconcile his desire to kill. Then he discovered that his daughter, implicated in a murder at her college campus, also has "what he has", a genetic disposition to kill people.

While the move most likely was not taking digs at AA or the Twelve Steps, the outcome of the film, plus the presentation of a man who attends meetings yet still never kicks the habit, set off a different set of signals for me.

Once again, proof positive that "AA" does not work.

Yes, I realize that "Mr. Brooks" is just a movie, yet how fascinating that a tortured character, who is a terrible criminal, goes to AA meetings to "deal with his issues", yet he never breaks free. He keeps on killing people, enough that even when he wanted to put an end to his broken, evil life, he manages to seduce a creepy mechanical engineer, who witnessed him kill a couple, only to play him out and kill him, and then implicate him for the serial murders which he had committed.

The most chilling yet telling quote from the movie comes from the alter ego:

Brooks mouths "The Serenity Prayer":

Mr. Earl Brooks: [voice-over] Oh God... God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.

Then the alter ego responds:

Marshall: [voice-over] Why do you fight it so hard, Earl?


AA is all about defining people by their sickness, and then setting them up for a life of overcoming something that they are defined by. Such a circuitous life of "overcoming" a self which will never be overcome is destined for failure, or death.

Just look at Mr. Brooks!