Review of The Beaver (2011) by Jimmyofthedead — 15 Oct 2012

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie, but then again my expectations were not the highest. Initial ratings of this movie made it seem like it was going to be a boring ride through the mind of a depressed man, and instead I found a movie that was very well written up to certain points.

Mel Gibson gives an extremely good performance that is believable and makes you generally care for him. His portraying of "the beaver" is above expectations for someone having to give his feelings through a puppet.

The writing is great, but only to a certain point. The main characters raise from depression and the banter from the beaver is excellent, but the fall back gets sloppy. The problems with the eldest son seem forced, and his performance is overshadowed greatly by Mel Gibson.

There is a point where I thought the story was coming to an end, but then a "shocking" point occurred to keep it going, but it was way too forced. It felt unnecessary, just a way to keep things going and make people think, but in the wrong way.

I still found it a good movie, better than most stories about a depressed guy with a puppet...but Mel Gibson knocks it out of the park and his plight seems genuine until the writing gets forced. Go check it out, you might be shocked and actually like it.