Walter Black (Mel Gibson) is a deeply depressed man. Neither his lovely family nor his CEO position at a toy company can overcome his mental illness. Finally, he hits rock bottom. But a puppet of a beaver that he found in the rubbish comes to life as an alter-ego; a way for Walter to express his inner-most feelings. Despite the insanity of it, this ‘therapy’ is supported by both his family and his colleagues – until he take drastic measures to free himself.
I can’t say whether the film would be better with someone other than Mel Gibson in the main role. It is pretty difficult to overlook his anti-Semitic rants and Holocaust denial, and several extremely bad films. He’s not bad in this; and this is not a bad film. It’s not a great film, but not as bad as I had expected. It’s a bit like a weak version of Lars and the Real Girl – a man with a mental illness uses an inanimate object to work through his problem. The big difference is that Lars and the Real Girl has heart and beauty. The Beaver felt lacking in both heart and beauty.
ireckonthat 