THE BEAVER REVIEW

Let’s just forget about Mel Gibson and the controversy that has surrounded him of late. In the ensuing drama many people have forgotten what a quality actor that Gibson is. Well, if it does anything at all, The Beaver will remind you that Gibson is a genuinely gifted actor and has still got a great presence about him.

The Beaver (directed by Jodie Foster) tells the story of Walter Black, a husband and dad and all round successful company owner. That is, until depression sets in and Black spends most of his days sleeping. And sleeping. And sleeping. So much so, that his wife (played by Jodie Foster) can’t take any more of the shambles of a marriage they have and kicks him out. So Walter ends up attempting suicide which involves ties, shower curtains, balconies and  a TV. When that fails he discovers a beaver puppet in a dumpster. From here on in, Walter carries a card around with him that explains why his arm is permanently planted up our furry friend’s fluffy arse. To try and cure his depression, Walter communicates…or rather the Beaver communicates for him. It’s all a little surreal as the Beaver is EVERYWHERE Walter goes and is present in EVERYTHING he does. All while this is going on, his eldest son despises him and isn’t too far away from the depths of depression either. His goal in life seems to be not like his father, which he is completely obsessed about.

So the dysfunctional family get back together until the beaver idea gets boring and tired. Then Walter really starts transcending into a very dark place as the beaver takes control over him completely with, shall we say, impressive and shocking results. And that’s the story more or less coupled with a sub plot with the eldest son finding romance and finding he’s more like his dad than he thinks.

By the end of the movie, I really felt I should have been crying my eyes out. But not one tear shed. Not even a sniff of a tear duct opening up. And that’s what I found quite weird about the whole movie. Gibson’s performance is nothing short of mindblowing. Scene after scene he amazes on screen and his command of the beaver is really, really, really good. His dramatic descent into deeper, darker places is very subtle and brilliantly executed. But the beaver itself is his downfall. While it’s convincing, the dodgy British accent Walter gives to the beaver is quite annoying and grates on the brain quite quickly. In turn, you disconnect from the movie time and time again, and nothing Jodie Foster and Anton Yelchin can do will reconnect you completely. And that’s the downer of this otherwise solid piece of drama. For a movie that, by default, asks you to connect emotionally to the main character, it disconnects you at nearly every given opportunity.

Now, while that isn’t enough to cause the whole thing to crash down around it, it does stop it from being an outstanding piece of cinema, which is a shame as Gibson is absolutely superb. Overall, The Beaver is a very dark movie, and goes to really dark places, but from time to time it shines brightly, and brings the smiles and laughs. It’s just a pity that it’s title character puppet grates on you so much. Either way, it’s worth the price of admission to see Gibson’s performance!