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.
