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It really sounds to me like Mel Gibson has modelled the voice and the accent for the puppet on Ray Winstone which shouldn't surprise me considering they have worked together in the past. However, top marks to Mel for that one because you really could be forgiven for thinking Ray did a voice-over for the puppet.

In general this is not the usual style of film I would watch but I really must say I was most pleasantly surprised at how engaging it was. For me at least, this was down to the Beaver (yes I realise how that sounds) but the remarkable thing is that I forgot it was a puppet controlled and voiced by Mel. I really began to see it as a complete separate character and it just gave the film whole other dimension.

Performances from Gibson and Foster were excellent (as you would expect). Their acting was totally spot on, never once seeming over the top or forced. Jodie Foster has done a sterling job on the directors chair skilfully taking the viewer on a journey in what I would have thought not a particularly easy film to direct. There are some humorous moments but this is not a comedy. You will occasionally laugh, and at times you will tense up during some of Gibsons darker moments. But that is a job well done from all.

This is certainly not a film for everyone but if you like a movie that's choc full to the brim with the human element, excellent acting and directing then I really would recommend it.

I loved this movie. It found it sad that the timing of his personal implosion over-shadowed the importance and quality of this movie, but I loved it. All of it. Is it an Academy Award Nominee? No, but I'll recommend it to all who ask about it.

I wish his personal life had not unraveled to such a degree....who would want that for anyone. I wish Hollywood and the press wouldn't have exploited every last second of it, but such is the shallow world of both. I found it particularly fascinating and ironic that he was booted from the cast of The Hangover II because none of the actors wanted to support his woman abusing ways.....and then they brought back Mike Tyson (a wife beater and rapist)for a recurring role. Why would one be surprised by the shallowness of H-town.

Rent this. Besides the fact that everyone deserves a second chance, it's a good movie.

Although it's difficult to watch Mel Gibson now without the backdrop of alcoholism, abuse, bigotry, rants and disappointment, this role may actually be the perfect role for him to re-appear on the screen with sympathy and hope of redemption. He plays this role perfectly and the viewer is sucked into the emotion and distress of all characters dealing with their own challenges. It's a beautiful movie with a powerful message. Some have criticized Jodie Foster's directing, but I found the film to be very balanced with the right amount of comedy and tragedy. I loved the camera work and editing, especially with the Beaver as its own character. I also liked the secondary storyline about the teenagers. All the performances were very good. I think the entire movie is very well done, and although I have not changed my personal opinion of Mel Gibson at all, the movie does make you very sympathetic towards families dealing with crisis including his own, and as an actor, he pulls off a very difficult role.

I'd give this movie a full ten if not for confusion over the "weighted average" system in which IMDb supposedly disregards a lot of extreme highs or lows. And speaking of highs and lows, who better than a bi-polar actor to not only accept a stigmafied role of someone with a mental disorder but also to get past that and offer the meat and potatoes of entertainment as well? Full disclosure: I am on Team Mel when it comes to an ex girlfriend making headlines with her personal life with reckless disregard for the personal and professional toll; an overkill gesture followed-up ultimately by withdrawal of charges. . .

I won't get into debates over context and word choices in someone's private conversations or during a fit of rage. But others like to, and perhaps for that reason I was only one of about 21 people in the late showing of The Beaver opening night at the Varsity in Toronto, cinema 8. Apparently the VIP cinema there had a screening that started 20 minutes earlier, but I don't know how that or earlier screenings were attended. I'm hoping the movie does better. Even with a small crowd, the audience I was in responded with laughter where appropriate, and the atmosphere was often charged with anxious energy.

Jodie Foster is very dear in her own performance, and her directing choices don't falter. Mel gives glimpses of his goofy persona and one can speculate about which bits of whimsy might have been his contributions, but he also lets us dislike the character a bit or the condition he suffers and the film goes to some dark places. Nobody in the theatre dared laugh at the point that is most drastic and also anxiety inducing. In someone else' hands this film could easily be a TV Movie of the Week.

The woman who played the Sheriff in Signs is again Mel's confidant in The Beaver for the half of the story involving his business. Anton Yelchin (the new Scotty in Star Trek) is impressively grounded even as he suffers through some of his father's inherited symptoms and those typical of teens anyway.

If you are poisoned against Mel, I'm not going to say go see it but I'll go out on a limb and suggest that one of the opening sequences where he is at his lowest ebb might be especially entertaining for people who hate him and there is a certain gallows humour that might allow you to relax your guard. The daring premise and loving execution of the film from everyone involved is a nice mix and the film deserves a better fate than it is likely to get with gossips fanning the flame of scandal.

"Everyone loves a train wreck, especially one they're not in." - The Beaver

I know people are clogging the box office lines for Thor this weekend, and I haven't heard anything negative about that movie but I'm glad I saw The Beaver and that I can honestly say it is more than just weird; it is actually also out on a limb and inspiring without feeling like a cheat. That's my two cents anyway.

People seem to forget that humans make mistakes, and that Mel Gibson has his shares of mistakes that I'm sure he is feeling bad about and trying to fix, but people are just so judgmental and non forgiving. the problem is, I'm sure that most of them had made similar mistakes in their lives, but are still going on about Gibson, sheesh !!

back to the movie, I was looking forward to it, because i think Mel Gibson is a really talented actor, and I gotta say, the movie did not disappoint me. the story as most of you might know from the trailers, is that Gibson's character suffers from depression, which has negative impact on him as well as on his family surrounding him. and just as things seem to be looking hopeless, he finds the Beaver, and with it, he finds his voice and his self. A simple yet effective story, executed in a very professional manner, it is a journey into healing and trying to beat that nasty depression. the characters are played to perfection, as Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster, who also directs the film, deliver memorable performances.

It also tackles the family relations and how it is affected by the father's sickness and turmoil, about family supporting each other and an emotional father - son story.

Digging deep into Mel Gibson's character Psyche, and how he escapes his inner depression through the puppet, the beaver, is just so interesting. and they actually made the Beaver, the puppet itself so real, it appeared as a completely independent character, who was funny and at times even freighting. In summary, a highly recommended movie, great acting and a wonderful story. If you are one of those who are still obsessing about Gibson's mistakes, then just go watch Jumping the Broom.