The Beaver [M]

Walter Black was once a successful toy executive, husband, and family man who now suffers from severe depression. No matter what he tries, he cannot seem to get himself back to himself… that is until a beaver hand puppet enters his life. He finds the puppet in a dumpster and soon uses it to speak through and pick himself up. For a while it seems to work, setting his rapport with his wife and youngest child back on track as well as his career, but soon the beaver becomes a more dominant part of Walter’s mind and threatens to wipe clean the slate of Walters past; something that Walter will not allow. 

This is really just a beautiful film about picking oneself up and redirecting one’s life. Directed by Jodi Foster, The Beaver was a very lovely, but dark psychological drama that I found completely captivating. 

Walter Black was once a successful toy executive, husband, and family man who now suffers from severe depression. No matter what he tries, he cannot seem to get himself back to himself… that is until a beaver hand puppet enters his life. He finds the puppet in a dumpster and uses it to speak through and pick himself up. For a while it seems to work, setting his rapport with his wife and youngest child back on track as well as his career, but soon the beaver becomes the more dominant part of Walter’s personality and threatens to wipe the slate of Walter’s past completely clean; something that Walter will not allow. 

What I liked most about this movie was that it began as a bland drama, then travelled down a more comedic path, before becoming very dark, and then finally leaving us with a feeling of hope that everything was going to turn out all right. 

Mel Gibson gave a great performance as Walter, a confused, numb man who for the beginning was uncertain of how to respond to anything. Then when he’s got the beaver on, he suddenly becomes charming, aggressive, funny, and full of life again… before he really goes insane. He was just great. 

Starring Jodi Foster, Cherry Jones, Anton Yelchin, Riley Thomas Stuart, and Zachary Booth, The Beaver is a great psychological drama that’s filled with comedy, frustration, depression, drama, and hope. I enjoyed it very much.