Review of The Beaver (2011) by Mrdancinggecko — 28 Jun 2012

This film misses the mark by a margin that should have never happened, considering those involved. It could have been a brilliantly witty and powerful insight into mental disorder, instead it seems rushed and at times a little trite.

I have no idea if the studio ran this through a focus group, probably, but it seems to be missing a good twenty minutes to half an hour. Was it left on the cutting room floor as a result, I have no idea, but it certainly feels like it. The opportunity of establishing the characters at the start, a slower, more measured look at the breakdown of Gibson's character, it's effect on his family and their breakup and a little more on his son's love interests loss, would all have contributed to a much better experience for the audience.

Mel Gibson's portrayal is good to a point, which is down to the script more than anything.

And the lackluster direction, which very un-Jodi Foster like. Would I recommend it? Yes, but with the caveat that it's a half decent, made for TV movie.