The Beaver
starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin and Riley Thomas Stewart
written by Kyle Killen
directed by Jodie Foster
Rating: ♦◊◊◊◊
I didn’t like this movie. I heard about it when it was still in production a couple of years ago and I wanted to see Mel Gibson directed by Jodie Foster, thinking maybe it would be an action or romantic comedy movie. But it wasn’t. It was a human drama. And a pretty depressing human drama at that as it describes the struggle of Walter Black (Gibson) with severe depression. It’s a depression that destroys his career, then his family, and then leads to self-mutilation. I can dig it all. Been there. Done that.
Walter has tried, endured, and abandoned all manner of traditional, and some not so traditional therapies. Finally, he adopts a beaver hand puppet and begins talking in a funny voice as the only way to communicate. And it works, too, although to everyone around him it appears that his condition is worsening.