So I saw this last night, and I wrote a review, if you've seen this read and let me know if you agree. If you haven't seen it, check it out.
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This could be the most under rated film of the year, simply because no one had a chance to see it.
The Beaver was in limited release, yet dubbed as Mel Gibson's triumphant return, too bad so few got to experience it.
It's a story about a beaten man with no drive or positive outlook on life, whose recovery from depression finds form in a hand puppet of a beaver.
Gibson plays Walter Black the CEO of a toy company, husband and father of two. Suffering through a troubled marriage and unable to be himself anymore, depression fully sets in. When he discovers this beaver puppet, he inherits a new sense of self awareness along with an english accent.
The Beaver is such an important character in this film, yet all it is, is an extension of Walter Black's hand. But it has it's own personality, it's own attitude and it's own charisma.
When people lauded Gibson's performance here, they weren't kidding.
The general view of Gibson to the public over the last handful of years was a racist, drunk, foul mouthed, hot head.
With The Beaver he's shown the audience that he still can be a brilliant actor.
Along with Gibson, The Beaver's core cast really shines, Jodie Foster, Jennifer Lawrence and most of all Anton Yelchin.
Yelchin plays Porter, the eldest son who is doing everything he can to not be like his dysfunctional father. Yelchin is quickly becoming a great young actor, showing how versatile he can be, from comedies to drama's.
The tone of this film is dark and somber, you see a man at the mercy of a puppet, yet it's Walter Black talking to himself. But he doesn't seem to get it, he really feels like the beaver is a completely different person.
A therapist perhaps, someone to help him be the man he never was, with confidence and determination. He never could just come out and be that guy, so he found a way to cope, in the form of a ragged, stuffed puppet with an accent.
Foster actually directed this film, and did a great job of managing all the volatile situations.
The Beaver has been labeled as controversial, simply for the fact that it could resemble Gibson's personal struggles to a T.
With everything being so public in Gibson's career meltdown, finding solace in a split personality like puppet to help through the difficult times, doesn't seem so out of the ordinary.
You can argue that this self realization type of performance is the greatest of Gibson's career.
The Beaver is an all too real and personal depiction of finding yourself. It's dark, funny, touching and most of all authentic.
If not for all the off-the-screen trouble along with a limited release date in May, Gibson and The Beaver could have made some serious Oscar noise.
The Beaver is one of my favorite films of 2011, and Gibson's strong performance will be one of the hardest to match.
Rating: 9/10