Le complexe du castor

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.

"The Beaver" tells the story of Walter Black (Mel Gibson), a man who has lost his way in life and is dealing with an extreme case of depression. His wife Meredith (Jodie Foster) has told him to move out and his oldest son Porter (Anton Yelchin) hates him. Just when he is about to call it quits, Walter becomes friends with a hand puppet named The Beaver, who takes total control of Walter's life. With The Beaver constantly attached to Walter, he is able redeem himself at work and with his wife and youngest son. It isn't long though before living life through The Beaver catches up to Walter making his life even worse than ever before. It is now up to Walter to take back his life or to lose everything he has worked his entire life for and live it forever as The Beaver.

"The Beaver" is a really dark and depressing piece of cinema. As the film continues, you really saw how deep Walter's depression is and that he is in serious need of help. The man is living his life through a stuffed beaver! It's really an original and interesting take on depression, which has never been seen before. The subplot, which was focused around Anton Yelchin was also interesting and kind of played hand and hand as the same situation that Walter was dealing with.

Mel Gibson gives us an extremely powerful and dark performance in this film. This is something that you have never seen him do before and it's extremely scary to watch him portray this character. This is the most unique take on depression that I have currently seen and Gibson nails it. Jodie Foster is good as the dedicated wife and gives an emotional performance. You can tell that Meredith cares deeply for Walter and will stop at nothing to be with him. Anton Yelchin, gives the best performance of his career in this film. He is a kid who hates his father so much that he lives his life through others. He is so focused on hating his father that he doesn't realize he can't live his own life. That is until Jennifer Lawerence's character Norah comes along and helps him find himself. The acting in this film is just ravishing with everyone involved showcasing some of the best performances of their careers.

While I admired the film's creative and unique take on depression as well as everyone's acting, there were a few elements of the film that didn't sit well with me. The first being why the heck didn't anyone have Walter committed to a mental institute? About 30 minutes in, I couldn't suspend belief that an entire company would allow its CEO to run a company through a hand puppet. That just wasn't plausible. I also didn't get how Meredith didn't take more active role in helping Walter out. There is a scene where Meredith and Walter go to dinner and Meredith tells the Beaver that she wants Walter to come out. This scene is quite disturbing as it shows just how much the Beaver has taken control. At this point, however, why Meredith doesn't bring him to counseling is just unbelievable. He has obviously lost his mind at this point. I just didn't get it those two factors of the film. It's like everyone cared yet no one really took the time to guide him to the light so to speak.

Despite those minor hiccups, I really enjoyed the film. I liked that it was about two stories in one. There was Walter living life through depression aka The Beaver and there was Porter living his life through writing about others. Both of these stories were showing how much Walter and Porter were alike and how much Meredith and Norah are alike. It was a very unique way to view living life through others or other things but it worked out perfectly. My favorite thing about the film was the last 30 minutes. The entire third act was remarkable and really overshadowed all my initial dislikes in the film in regards to no one committing Walter. It was a truly powerful and scary because it showed the true side effects of depression and just how deep into the depression Walter really was. I don't want to give anything away but I will let you know that something does happen to Walter in the last 30 minutes that truly impacts his life. It brings the overall tone of the film to a very dark and depressing state but I feel it was an important part of the film. This film wouldn't have worked out to be so good if it wasn't for how deep it got in that last 30 minutes.

In the end, "The Beaver" will definitely not be a film for everyone. If you are going expecting a comedy, I will warn you right now that you should stay far away. This is not a comedy and it's not even a dramedy. While it does have a few light-hearted moments here and there, this is probably one of the darkest mainstream films that I have come across in quite some time. I don't know how well this is going to do, one for the obvious reason of Mel Gibson, but also because of the small niche market for this film. It obviously has great performances, good direction, and a well written story but the subject matter isn't what most people want to see. I think it's great to see a film be as ballsy and real as this one but I also know this isn't what sells tickets. I would be curious to see how this does when it's released. I personally think it's a must see and recommend those who are into really serious dramas to put this on the top of your list. It's a really unique take on depression, as well as a unique piece of cinema.

The Beaver is the story of Walter Black, a hopelessly depressed individual who finds the way out in a puppet that speaks for him. He finds a beaver puppet in a dumpster and decides to take it with him to the hotel room where he get's drunk and tries to commit a suicide. After the first attempt fails he climbs on the edge of the balcony and is about to jump, but than, all the sudden, the beaver speaks out and brings him to his senses. The idea, as simple and dull as it may sound, is actually quite good and interesting when you think about it. Unforunatelly, the script lacks a great deal in structure and character development which is ultimately why the movie is not nearly as good as it could've and should've been.

Jennifer Lawrence and Anthon Yelchin are both brilliant in the movie and a big talent is really visible in their performances. Unfortunately, while Yelchin is obviously very, very talented, i just can't see the leading man in him. His charisma is, i think, really not on the same level with his talent. However, that being said, i do not doubt it that both of them are gonna be Academy Award winners one day. Jennifer Lawrence is already almost there. With one nomination behind her, the second one is surely gonna come. And i think that one day, with the right choice of roles, she could even be Hollywood's best leading lady. She definitely has what it takes for it.

However, all the good performances in this movie really fall to water compared to the one of Mel Gibson. I don't know if he's acting or is it him self in the movie, and honestly i don't care. All i know is that he's brilliant. If only the character had more to offer, i'm sure the role would be remembered for a long, long time. But even though the movie fails at certain levels, Gibson's performance was definitely worthy of a much larger recognition. If you ask me, the reason he wasn't at the Oscars this year, if not as a winner than definitely as a nominee, is the fresh new scandal that happened in his life. And that's, i think, unfair because he is an actor and he should be judged as an actor and not as a human being. In fact, i don't think anyone can judge him as a human being since none of us knows him like one. The only way we (the audience), and the critics, can know him is as an actor. As Mad Max, William Wallace, Walter Black and so on.... As far as this role goes, at my opinion, he was definitely robbed of all the recognition he well deserved for the portrayal of Walter Black. An amazing performance that was unfairly overlooked by the Academy's voters.

The weakest link as far as the acting goes is, and i can't believe i'm actually saying this, Jodie Foster. It could be because she was busy working as a director on the movie, but her performance, even though good, is really not on the same level as those of Yelchin and Lawrence, and needless to say, as the one of Mel Gibson. Another thing i felt was very weak is the score. Well, it's not bad, it's good. It just doesn't fit this film. It's too melodic and.... Italian. I just don't think it's right for this kind of story. The score that this movie desperately needed should've been something like the one from American Beauty. That would fit great! Slow, sad, tragic... It would've been great!

I really wish the script was longer. And simply because you can't build so many complicated characters in ninety pages. Not convincingly anyway. And especially in a movie like this one which was supposed to be a deep story that deals with a very important subject. What i really like about the movie is the feeling of a solution circling around all the time, but staying unreachable to everyone. Like for example, Walter's wife showing him pictures of their family back when everyone was happy hoping that he'll see some hope or inspiration in it.... and so on... which he fails at doing. That could've been a real good description of the state he, and the depressed people in general, are usually in. But, once again, the script fails terribly in structure and it prevents it's character's from going in whatever direction they were supposed to go. Truth be told, i don't think it's the writer's fault so much as it is Hollywood's. Producer's rarely allow the movie to be a piece of art these day's, even when some movies like this one are meant to be just it. I wouldn't be surprised if the first draft was way better than the one they made the movie on.

To conclude my review, i wasn't bored, but i was definitely not blown away either. The only thing that was great about the movie is acting. Gibson's especially. Maybe it's because i had really high hopes for this movie, but i was a bit disappointed. It's a good movie, but i expected it to be great!!!! It's definitely worth a watch, but i wouldn't put my hopes into being left speechless.

Walter Black (Mel Gibson) is a chronically depressed, miserable man who has been lost in a dark cloud of despair for years. He has driven the toy company his father founded to the brink of bankruptcy and that's nothing compared to the damage he's done to his family. His youngest son (Riley Thomas Stewart) doesn't essentially doesn't have a father, his oldest son (Anton Yelchin) despises him, and his wife (Jodie Foster) has kicked him out of the house. As the voice-over tells us, Walter died inside long ago but his body didn't have the decency to follow suit. On a serious bender, Walter finds a beaver hand puppet in a dumpster and when he comes to after a failed suicide attempt, he begins to speak to himself through the beaver (with a British accent, no less). He develops his own form of therapy, speaking only through the beaver and begins to reintegrate himself into the lives of his family members and his company with great success. Before long, however, Walter can no longer find the line of reality between himself and the beaver and watches as all the progress he had made washes away.

The similarities between Walter and Gibson himself are obvious and significant. Add in some unfortunate voicemail rants and a touch of anti-Semitism and this could play as a Gibson documentary. These similarities are also where "The Beaver" makes its money. Walter's transition seems authentic (to a point) as if Gibson himself is undergoing the therapy along with his character. He exhibits the right character traits of man who has lost his way and is struggling to find a way back and the work he does with facial expressions, body language, etc. is rich. It's quite possible that, as a Gibson fan and someone who wants to see him get back on track, I could be exaggerating the overall quality of his performance but I think a great deal is asked of him in this roll and he delivers. I wouldn't go so far as to call this a superb performance but it is solid and compelling and an example of just how good Gibson can be when he gives himself a chance.

The other elements within "The Beaver" represent a decisive step down from the work done by Gibson. Foster's character never really finds a foothold to become substantial and her work as director is satisfactory but unspectacular. Kyle Killen's script is uneven, too drawn out in some parts but rushed in others resulting in a film that doesn't develop quite the way I believe it was supposed to. And while I am generally down with a darker narrative, "The Beaver" is almost overwhelmed with it to the point of frustrating bleakness. Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence (the Valedictorian cheerleader) have some nice moments together but their relationship is poorly developed and is treated at times like a distraction from the storyline involving Walter. A lot could have been done with Yelchin's character and his relationship with Walter but it stagnates early on and just barely reaches for redemption in the end. All totaled, "The Beaver" is a good movie with one great performance that carries the film much further than it could have gone otherwise. It is a worthwhile viewing but not one that I'd look forward to seeing again.

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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.