Review of The Beaver (2011) by Elliot N — 21 Oct 2011

Jodie Foster's third feature film is, shall we say, tackles depressions in a less than conventional way -though a beaver puppet. Mel Gibson stars as Walter Black a depressed individual who contemplates suicide is head of his father's former company which is on the verge of collapse and his family (wife and two kids) leave him due to his illness (surely a loving family would attempt to help through this rather than just leaving him?). As Walter is on the brink his mind snaps and a talking beaver puppet (which sounds almost exactly like Ray Winstone) saves his life. Through this beaver puppet he is a completely different man. The Beaver is a dramedy, so this means Foster must balance the drama and comedy well enough for the film's more serious elements to become believable. To an extent Foster has done this as there a few laughs and some more serious moments along the way but some other aspects are quite hard to take seriously enough for them to be convincing. Mel Gibson's performance in the central role is terrific and Foster is decent support but the over-sentimental ending slightly damages things. The Beaver is a film that his reliant on the viewer's acceptance of the central plot if one cannot accept it than the film will fail in one's eyes.

3/5.