Review: The Beaver

3.0

0.0 (0)

Absurd premise of a man who elects to once again communicate with society with his hand stuck in the butt of a toy beaver belies the virtuous message behind this film...part produced by Abu Dhabi's Imagenation, read our review below.

The film factory known as Hollywood, and the make-or-break culture bubbling within it is a fickle enigma. As this film was released, the media hounds were lapping up ‘Mad Mel’ Gibson’s earlier misdemeanors followed by much publicised (and much worse) charges of battery, which arguably led to the film being a catastrophic box-office flop States-side. Unjustified perhaps.

Jodie Foster directs and co-stars in a film labeled as a comedy drama. For sure there is comedy (as only Gibson can deliver) however the emphasis, albeit proffered with buckets of quirk, is on the difficult topic of mental illness; in particular the dark depths of depression.

It’s reported Mel’s recent conduct in the limelight was a primary reason (enforced upon?) for Foster to also cast herself in the film so as to assuage the Hollywood concerns over Gibson’s perceived Mel-tdown and provide the much needed anchor role for the film’s commercial success.

Errant behavior and pap spotlights aside, there are no shadows to be cast on the acting talent of Mr. Gibson. Playing the character Walter Black, a middle aged executive who is on the brink of deep depression to the point of a failed suicide attempt, Gibson is masterful at capturing the human frailty of one stricken by a much-recognised condition all too often swept under the societal carpet.

In an effort to reacquaint himself with his family and society in general, our protagonist adopts an alter-persona in the form of a hand puppet (said beaver) who upon first opening its mouth sounds distinctly like the cockney tones of Ray Winstone, an effect no doubt helped by Gibson’s recent work with the actor in the brilliant (but again caned at the box-office) Edge of Darkness.

The beaver puppet serves Gibson’s character admirably in assimilating again with his family and workplace however the charade wears thin and Walter’s mental instability surfaces again in his efforts to relieve himself of this crutch.

Interestingly, Imagenation Abu Dhabi was one of the production companies involved with this picture. Along with Ms. Foster, Imagenation’s involvement with other well known film-makers such as Peter Weir (The Way Back) might suggest the film had more promise than was eventually realized through tickets sales.

With lighthearted humour and Foster’s sensitive handling of the relationships between the characters, this serious issue is handled in such a way as to deserve your attention. While the oddball plot might turn away some from the outset, those who do see this film will generally by satisfied with a pleasing movie experience. We were.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE

Editor review

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