THE BEAVER (2011)
Reviewed By Jerry Saravia
A toy company owner, Walter Black (Mel Gibson), who is married and has two sons, has become a complete emotional wreck - he suffers from depression. His company is coming apart at the seams, his wife (Jodie Foster) is already planning to buy another house and move in with her two sons - all this after kicking Walter out. Walter stays at a motel and unsuccessfully attempts suicide. If you have the read the news of Mel Gibson's hateful rants in the last few years, you can't help but think this is a semi-autobiography. What we have not heard the actual Mel indulge in is using a beaver hand puppet that speaks with a Cockney accent! This is where the film lost me - the puppet speaks with this accent that comes out of nowhere. The film wants us to believe the hand puppet is almost speaking as an impulse and involuntarily, even though Walter has control of it. Bipolar much?
Once the beaver talks, Walter makes amends with his wife and his youngest son. When Walter has sex with his wife, he still needs the beaver! (No intentional puns here) Again, the film loses me when it resorts to the puppet. Walter still can't communicate with his eldest son, Porter (Anton Yelchin), a high-school student who is paid to write other students' term papers and such. Guess who thinks he can make a difference with Porter...the beaver of course. Naturally, the toy company becomes a success thanks to the marketing of a novel toy designed by Walter - a beaver for goodness sakes!
One relationship stands out in "The Beaver" and that is Porter's relationship with the high-school valedictorian, Norah (another stunning performance by Jennifer Lawrence). When Porter is asked by her to write a valedictorian speech, he delves deep into her past. There are scars and some deep emotions are expressed - all thanks to actors who are not using beaver hand puppets.
I respect and admire Jodie Foster and I still think she had a remarkable directorial debut with "Little Man Tate." She is also an exceptional actress but she is lost in this film - a delicate flower who can't make head or tail about her husband's mental illness. "The Beaver" is clearly about mental illness but it is exceedingly outrageous in its conceit because it never cuts deep or rings true. It wants to be a black comedy with a dramatic pulse, or maybe the other way around. Maybe it is really about the impossibility of leading a suburban family existence without the aid of a puppet. Or maybe it is really the story of a mentally ill man. Or maybe I just didn't care.
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