The Beaver

A quirky story paired with an emotional message, The Beaver takes risks that pay off. It’s the story about Walter Black that captures the audience, even if the separate side story about his son doesn’t come off quite so well.

Walter Black is suffering. He can’t seem to find the joy in life anymore. When his wife asks him to leave, Walter goes to a motel to kill himself. But a beaver puppet has other plans. After finding the animal in a dumpster, Walter puts it on his hand and the creature stops him from ending it all. The beaver takes on its own personality and dictates Walter’s life. His two sons and wife all must learn how to deal with this as Walter learns a few lessons of his own.

The Beaver is a unique story about a very common illness: depression. We’ve all had bad days, so it’s easy to relate to Walter. Throughout the story we, like Walter’s wife, are not sure whether this will work, but we’re all willing to give it a try. Luckily, The Beaver is able to straddle the thin line between comedy and drama.

Mel Gibson is hardly recognizable in this film. He literally becomes the beaver. The performance isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty great. Jodie Foster is equally as good, but Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence disappointed me. Anton plays Walter’s older son, Porter and Jennifer is his love interest, Norah. The story line between the two young actors is nothing like Walter’s. It is clichéd and loaded with obnoxious stereotypes. Furthermore, Anton and Jennifer play it very straight, making it pretty boring to watch.

I was happy with how The Beaver turned out. Walter’s story is worth watching, especially because you never knew what will happen next. The overall message may have been watered down by the separate story of Porter and Norah, but I still give the film the credit it deserves.