Review of The Beaver (2011) by Cameron J — 06 Oct 2011

"The Beaver", starring Mel Gibson as Walter Black as the beaver puppet as Michael Caine as Tobin Bell as Jigsaw. Man, this isn't a split personality, this is a compartmentalized personality. Wow, that joke's fall-flat enough as it is without to the overly big word. I need to consider the poor victims of hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia (Ha-ha, irony) or at least come up with better big-worded jokes. Okay, Joel, Ethan, you teach me how to be funny and nerdy at the same time and I'll try to teach you how to not be boring if you are gonna be funny. While you guys are at it, tell Jodie Foster what a comedy is, because I heard that she emphasized that this film is not a comedy, which it really kind of is and although it gets pretty dark, it gets dark in an "Evil Dead 2" way... I hear, because I haven't seen any of the "Evil Dead" movies yet, which I guess makes me crazier than Mel Gibson's character in this film. Please note that I emphasized "character", because no one - not even the nutjob he's playing in this - is as crazy as Mel Gibson, which makes his performance even more impressive, considering how drastically he had to calm himself.

Seriously though, although this film isn't quite enough to fully restore him to his former, pre-drunken-jerk greatness, Mel Gibson still gives us a glimpse at why we liked him in the first place by putting on a deep, powerful and complex performance, but one that might be a little too complex for this script. Now, I'm not saying that the screenplay is bad, because it I'll go so far to say that it's great, as it boasts snappy dialogue, charm and emotion to liven up the rather inventive premise, in spite of some scenes that could have been trimmed up in the screenplay. What I am saying is that the screenplay fails to explore the complexities behind some of these characters as thoroughly as it really should have. Now, the film does deliver on the drama, but some of it is melodrama. There is some exaggeration in realism, but the exaggerations that hit the hardest are the more melodramatic subplots, which don't feel terribly genuine and further dilute the effectiveness of more complex character drama following the Walter Black character, which easily could have been more effective than you might think. However, although it could have done a bit more with the character study aspects, the film generally delivers on the broader dramatic aspects. Sure, the film could have dealt with the complexities more, but when it does hit on some serious human drama, the strangeness in the premise is bypassed by some definate heart, thanks to the solid performances both on and off of the screen.

When a screenplay is flawed, it's hard not to aim blame (Ha-ha, I rhymed) at the director, but this is one of those handful of cases where the direction is so strong, that it's easy to tell that this is not the fault of our storyeller. Sure, Jodie Foster's tone for the film isn't always as serious as it should have been, but it's definately not as silly as it could have been, mostly because she sets a fairly lively and layered tone through the handsome visual style and keeps the film at a smooth, compelling pace, which isn't to say that her storytelling isn't snappy. This film truly reflects her experinence and knowledge in film, for it not only shows how solid of a director she is, but also furthers shows how solid of an actress she is, for although she's not a terribly major major role in the film, her emotional work and compelling atmosphere owns the spotlight every time she's under it, especially when you consider how much she had to juggle. Still, like I said, this film isn't all about her and although she steals the spotlight, it's much more often than not on the spotlights of up-and-coming great actor Anton Yelchin and of course, veteran great Mel "Still Got It" Gibson. Yelchin's subplot contains almost all of the melodrama in the film, but what little effectiveness there is in the film is conveyed sharply by Yelchin's very humanly compelling performance, as well as his charming chemistry with the absolutely stunning and also quite talented Jennifer Lawrence. Still, this is Gibson's show and he commands it with his strikingly stellar performances as a man at the end of his rope who finds comfort in this alternate personality. His believablity as these two personalities - one made compelling by Gibson's excellent emotional skills and one made charming by his electric charisma - is truly awe-inspiring to a difficult-to-describe level and if you see this film for nothing else, then see it for Gibson's performance, not so much for you to forget about his rocky personal life, but to be reminded of why he got to be such a heavyweight in the acting industry in the first place.

Overall, although it's more simplistic than it should have been, "The Beaver" is a rather inventive story the directing Jodie Foster generally tells charmingly, when she's not delivering on genuine, more often than not, deeply effective human drama carried by the riveting chemistry and emotion of veteran acting Jodie Foster, acting-great-to-be Anton Yelchin and of course, powerhouse leading man Mel Gibson, who makes an audacious, deeply immersive - dare I say it - first step back to the top.