The Beaver (2011, Jodie Foster)

Mel Gibson. The name alone is enough to put a substantial amount of people off the film. He has become one of the most controversial figures in Hollywood in recent years. For his political views, for his religious views (not to mention his film The Passion of the Christ), his racist comments, and of course his disgusting rants on tape. Many of my friends have even told me that they have boycotted Mel and do not wish to see anymore of his films.

Well personally I think they wont be missing out on Edge of Darkness (a remake of a British TV show from the 1980s). However I don't think we should mix Mel Gibson the actor, with Mel Gibson's personal life. What he does is his own business and his own burden to carry. Yes what he did was wrong, and inexcusable, but he is an actor and I watch his films because I like his acting or because of the movies he's in.

The same case with Roman Polanski, as what he did years ago was totally inexcusable however he is a great director and we all loved The Pianist and I also loved The Ghost Writer. I also think that his choice to play Walter Black in The Beaver was both a brave and excellent choice for Mel.

Walter Black is a very depressed suicidal middle aged man, who is married to Meredith (Jodie Foster) with two boys. Not only can he not bare to look back at the past but he feels he doesn't have the strength to live on, which is why he decides to commit suicide. After this fails, he comes across a hand puppet in the form of a beaver. Now he is able to face his family and everyone around him, only he can only talk as the beaver (who sounds a lot like Ray Winstone) and everyone must talk to the beaver rather than Walter.

This way he feels like a new person and no longer has to look back to his past. His wife first thinks he's crazy but when he begins to bond again with his younger son, she goes along with it, also because she loves him so. His elder son Porter (who has a lot in common with his father) however not only hates him now but thinks he has lost his mind entirely. But for now it is working for Walter, but always speaking as the beaver but when his wife wants Walter not the beaver, Walter can't handle it as he is terrified to come out.

We can almost see the real Gibson on screen here as I'm sure he wishes to forget the past and cannot look upon it. Most notably in the scene where his wife gives him a memory box with old photos (to Walter not the beaver) on their anniversary. Not only does Walter completely loose it and we can really see it in his intense eyes, but he brings back the beaver, not because he wants to but because he cannot cope with this without the beaver to speak for him (if that makes sense).

The Beaver also has some very tender scenes with his young son Henry, and we can see that Henry doesn't care that his father has a beaver for a hand. He is just enjoying the fact that he is now getting the attention that he always wanted from his father, rather than seeing his father sleepwalking through life or just plain sleeping. They are also some of my favourite scenes in the film.

The scenes however that didn't work so much for me were the scenes between Porter and his love interest Norah (played by Jennifer Lawrence from Winter's Bone). Unlike Foster and Gibson, Porter and Norah do not really seem to have a real connection and I for one didn't buy it, nor did I buy the speech at the end by Norah.

This is not an easy movie to watch, as it is funny at times but also very dark and very depressing but it is also arguably Mel Gibson's finest performance as he brings his real feelings to the script. This is not the first time either that he has played a suicidal character. In 1987 he played the unforgettable suicidal cop Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon (who cannot cope with the lose of his wife), which is his most memorable film and performance.

Kyle Killen's script could have been a complete disaster on film if it were not in the right hands, but director Jodie Foster does a terrific job with the material. I guess it also helps that Foster and Gibson have been great friends ever since 1994 (when they worked together on Maverick).

I really hope people will see this film and when they watch it, they do not think of Mel Gibson and his con traversal personal life, but they think of Mel Gibson the actor, who gave films like as Mad Max, Galipoli, The Bounty, Braveheart, Signs, and many others. The Beaver however will always be remembered as Gibson's most raw performance.

Click here for the trailer

Rating: 3.5 / 4