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@JamesEppler Separating the artist from the art is a difficult thing for some viewers to do. It's even tougher in "The Beaver," with the troubled Mel Gibson playing a manic depressive. He looks terrible - his eyes full of self-loathing, devoid of any hope things may get better. It's part of what makes his performance in the film so effective because the spare moments of happiness are that much more real.
In one of the film's more obvious instances of symbolism, Gibson plays a guy named Walter Black, a guy trapped in his own darkness. The film has to balance elements of tragedy and darkness with an outlandish premise. Consider an early scene where Gibson fails at a clumsy suicide attempt, only to wake up in a drunken stupor talking to a beaver hand puppet.
We watch Gibson engage in this conversation with this puppet, and it eventually takes over for him in his interaction with others. He tells his wife (director Jodie Foster), kids and co-workers this hand puppet with a cockney accent is a therapeutic tool for him to be able to communicate.
Some characters react to it in a way that's believable - others don't.
The most wrenching scene in the film finds Foster asking Gibson to put the puppet aside for a night so they can have an anniversary dinner together. It just about incapacitates him.
Give director and co-star Jodie Foster credit for guiding us through these shifting tones, mostly with success. The problems arrive toward the end with a gloss-over finish.
This is an Oscar-bait performance from Gibson, though. Perhaps if it were being performed by a different actor, it would be a real contender.
But it also may not have been as good.
Check it out now on DVD.
