It’s truly a shame that The Beaver, thanks to some very bad publicity via Mel Gibson’s unfortunate public meltdown, almost never saw the light of day. Not only is it a very strong film regarding the human psyche and its fragility, it also features a truly marvelous cast, highlighted by one of the best performances of Gibson’s long career. Thankfully, the film has found its way to Blu-ray and I must say, I was incredibly impressed and even moved.
The film opens rather bleakly by introducing Walter Black (Gibson), a once successful business and family man that has fallen into a life-crippling depression. Despite the best efforts of his wife Meredith (Jodie Foster, pulling double duty as actor/director), Walter continues going through the motions and in the process is ruining his company and his home life.
One day Meredith has finally had enough and kicks him out of their home, which leads Walter directly to a liquor store and indirectly to a nearby dumpster containing an old beaver hand puppet. Walter takes the puppet with him to his hotel room where he soon attempts suicide. After failing the first time, Walter gives it one more shot but before he can succeed, the puppet, which he put on just before the first attempt, has started talking to him.
Thus begins a nearly absurd premise to an anything but absurd story. This film explores, amongst other things, split personality disorder issues via a beaver hand puppet. The main difference is that now there is no Walter side, only “The Beaver,” a new, stronger and more confident personality, complete with an accent close to Gibson’s native Australian.
The film could easily fall prey to absolute ridiculousness, but Gibson really owns the role and gives it the seriousness and believability that the role requires. This shift in the narrative also serves to lighten the mood a bit, considering just how dark the movie starts off being.
For a while, the Beaver personality is working out exceptionally well. He’s repairing his home life and has helped engineer a boom for his once failing toy company.
In the long run, the puppet, while seemingly bringing Walter back to life, isn’t her husband and it becomes too much for Meredith to bear as she and the kids leave Walter for good. This leads to yet another thematic shift, and it’s not only the darkest moment of the film, but it’s also contains a completely jarring sequence that brings the real underlying issues and their weight to the forefront.
All of this is just the surface of what comprises The Beaver. Even with so many shifts in tone and theme, there’s a certain subtlety to the story that keeps it from feeling like a convoluted mess. Foster’s direction is sound and she gets solid performances out of everyone and seems to have a good eye for allowing the camera to linger on conversations just long enough.
I’ve already mentioned it, but I truly can’t say enough about Gibson’s performance in this film. Unshackled from his regular tough guy persona, Gibson does incredible work as a broken man whose desperately trying to find himself by any means possible. Not to mention the ability to make the viewer forget that the Beaver is simply a hand puppet. There’s a synchronicity to the actions between Walter and the puppet, from their breathing to their expressions. It really displays a shared psyche and provides the realism needed and I couldn’t applaud Gibson enough.
High Def Presentation
The Beaver comes to Blu-ray with a nearly perfect 1080p transfer. The picture is clear and exceptionally detailed, save for a few shots that look slightly soft. Colors pop and are actually quite astounding, especially in the few outdoor shots the film contains. There does seem to be an almost slight blue/gray filter to most of the film, which suits the mood of the film completely and is represented well with the transfer.
To coincide with the effective visuals is the equally impressive 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track. Whether it is dialogue, music or ambient noise, everything exists in a perfect balance with one another. Being a dialogue heavy film, there’s honestly not an awful lot going on with the audio, but the surrounds are utilized in a way to best take advantage of what there is. Not a lossless showpiece, by any means, but for this kind of film, it’s just fine.
Beyond The Film
As far as special features go, The Beaver is severely lacking. Whether that’s due to a lack of material or just a lack of interest on the crew or studio’s part remains to be seen. I will commend Summit Entertainment, however, for presenting the special features in high definition.
Audio Commentary with Director/Actor Jodie Foster – Foster provides an informative, yet sometimes bland, commentary for the film. Foster gives insight into the cast, characters and themes. There are quite a few lulls throughout and most incites are covered, in a much shorter fashion, in the accompanying documentary.
Deleted Scenes (HD, 4:52 min) – Presented are two “deleted” scenes that are more accurately described as extended versions of scenes already in the film. They are accompanied by an optional commentary from Foster, although here her comments are rather fleeting and rather unnecessary.
Everything Is Going To Be Ok (HD, 12:06 min) – For being such a short behind the scenes piece, it packs a ton of information in that’s more than just the regular fluff. All of the principle actors involved discuss their roles and those of their cast mates. Foster delves in to her casting decisions and her concerns and delights over Gibson’s performance and his puppetry. Best of all, it’s completely drama free.
The Beaver is quite a revelation. Taking into account the subject matter and tone, it’s definitely not something for everyone. When the film hits the heavy paces, it hits them hard.
Still, there’s just enough lighthearted intention to keep it from being a complete downer and in the end offers a bit of hope. Add to that Foster’s direction and Gibson’s raw talent, this is a superb film that comes highly recommended.
– Matt Hardeman
Shop for The Beaver on Blu-ray for a discounted price at Amazon.com (August 30, 2011 release date).
TheHDRoom may be paid a small commission for any services or products ordered through select links on this page.
The Beaver Blu-ray Review
The film opens rather bleakly by introducing Walter Black (Gibson), a once successful business and family man that has fallen into a life-crippling depression. Despite the best efforts of his wife Meredith (Jodie Foster, pulling double duty as actor/director), Walter continues going through the motions and in the process is ruining his company and his home life.
One day Meredith has finally had enough and kicks him out of their home, which leads Walter directly to a liquor store and indirectly to a nearby dumpster containing an old beaver hand puppet. Walter takes the puppet with him to his hotel room where he soon attempts suicide. After failing the first time, Walter gives it one more shot but before he can succeed, the puppet, which he put on just before the first attempt, has started talking to him.
Thus begins a nearly absurd premise to an anything but absurd story. This film explores, amongst other things, split personality disorder issues via a beaver hand puppet. The main difference is that now there is no Walter side, only “The Beaver,” a new, stronger and more confident personality, complete with an accent close to Gibson’s native Australian.
The film could easily fall prey to absolute ridiculousness, but Gibson really owns the role and gives it the seriousness and believability that the role requires. This shift in the narrative also serves to lighten the mood a bit, considering just how dark the movie starts off being.
For a while, the Beaver personality is working out exceptionally well. He’s repairing his home life and has helped engineer a boom for his once failing toy company.
In the long run, the puppet, while seemingly bringing Walter back to life, isn’t her husband and it becomes too much for Meredith to bear as she and the kids leave Walter for good. This leads to yet another thematic shift, and it’s not only the darkest moment of the film, but it’s also contains a completely jarring sequence that brings the real underlying issues and their weight to the forefront.
All of this is just the surface of what comprises The Beaver. Even with so many shifts in tone and theme, there’s a certain subtlety to the story that keeps it from feeling like a convoluted mess. Foster’s direction is sound and she gets solid performances out of everyone and seems to have a good eye for allowing the camera to linger on conversations just long enough.
I’ve already mentioned it, but I truly can’t say enough about Gibson’s performance in this film. Unshackled from his regular tough guy persona, Gibson does incredible work as a broken man whose desperately trying to find himself by any means possible. Not to mention the ability to make the viewer forget that the Beaver is simply a hand puppet. There’s a synchronicity to the actions between Walter and the puppet, from their breathing to their expressions. It really displays a shared psyche and provides the realism needed and I couldn’t applaud Gibson enough.
High Def Presentation
The Beaver comes to Blu-ray with a nearly perfect 1080p transfer. The picture is clear and exceptionally detailed, save for a few shots that look slightly soft. Colors pop and are actually quite astounding, especially in the few outdoor shots the film contains. There does seem to be an almost slight blue/gray filter to most of the film, which suits the mood of the film completely and is represented well with the transfer.
To coincide with the effective visuals is the equally impressive 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track. Whether it is dialogue, music or ambient noise, everything exists in a perfect balance with one another. Being a dialogue heavy film, there’s honestly not an awful lot going on with the audio, but the surrounds are utilized in a way to best take advantage of what there is. Not a lossless showpiece, by any means, but for this kind of film, it’s just fine.
Beyond The Film
As far as special features go, The Beaver is severely lacking. Whether that’s due to a lack of material or just a lack of interest on the crew or studio’s part remains to be seen. I will commend Summit Entertainment, however, for presenting the special features in high definition.
Audio Commentary with Director/Actor Jodie Foster – Foster provides an informative, yet sometimes bland, commentary for the film. Foster gives insight into the cast, characters and themes. There are quite a few lulls throughout and most incites are covered, in a much shorter fashion, in the accompanying documentary.
Deleted Scenes (HD, 4:52 min) – Presented are two “deleted” scenes that are more accurately described as extended versions of scenes already in the film. They are accompanied by an optional commentary from Foster, although here her comments are rather fleeting and rather unnecessary.
Everything Is Going To Be Ok (HD, 12:06 min) – For being such a short behind the scenes piece, it packs a ton of information in that’s more than just the regular fluff. All of the principle actors involved discuss their roles and those of their cast mates. Foster delves in to her casting decisions and her concerns and delights over Gibson’s performance and his puppetry. Best of all, it’s completely drama free.
The Beaver is quite a revelation. Taking into account the subject matter and tone, it’s definitely not something for everyone. When the film hits the heavy paces, it hits them hard.
Still, there’s just enough lighthearted intention to keep it from being a complete downer and in the end offers a bit of hope. Add to that Foster’s direction and Gibson’s raw talent, this is a superb film that comes highly recommended.
– Matt Hardeman
Shop for The Beaver on Blu-ray for a discounted price at Amazon.com (August 30, 2011 release date).
TheHDRoom may be paid a small commission for any services or products ordered through select links on this page.
Recommended for you