Review of The Beaver (2011) by Worth W — 28 Aug 2011

It has been over a month since my last post and I have seen a lot of movies since then. Over the last month my favorite movie has probably been the last 'Harry Potter'. Not only was it the best Harry Potter movie in my opinion it was a great movie overall. That will probably be the last time we will see an eighth installment being the best of a series. The movie most NWW over the last month would probably 'Conan the Barbarian'. All I have to stay is non-stop pointless action.

Well I want to dedicate the rest of this post to 'The Beaver'. I know a lot of you saw the trailer for this a couple of months ago expecting something else due to the suggestive title, but sorry to disappoint you the movie is really about a stuffed animal. It is an emotional story about a man on a journey to re-discover his family and re-start his life. Plagued by his own demons, Walter Black (Mel Gibson) was once a successful toy executive and family man who now suffers from depression. No matter what he tries, Walter can't seem to get himself back on track...until a beaver hand puppet enters his life (RT).

This was Jodie Foster third time trying to direct a movie and she finally got it right. When you think of a movie about depression you often times will avoid it like the plague because nobody likes a depressing movie. That is not the case with this movie... it is one of the most heartfelt movies I have seen in a while. Gibson, Foster, Yelchin, and Lawrence all give superb performances. Gibson's performance may be one of his best performances all time. I believe Foster hit all the cylinders just right with the cinematography, sound track, script, and acting. She was able to maintain balance of the movie when it could have easily got out of hand. We all know Mel's reputation is on the line and if you can look past that you will enjoy this movie. This movie deserves a solid B (WW!).