Originally mooted as a chaotic Jim Carrey vehicle, The Beaver eventually wound up as the inevitable Mel Gibson restoration piece – quirky madness with dark undertones, if that rings any bells, Mr. G?
Directed by long-time ‘ally’ Jodie Foster (who is the absolute spitting image of Eva Braun – Google it!), The Beaver is the story of a manic depressive toy company executive, Walter Black, who adopts a puppet (yes, of course it’s a beaver), as his sole means of communication.
The result is a film that is uncomfortable to watch and uncomfortable with itself. Foster tries nobly to parallel Walter’s story to Mel’s, but it ends up smacking of ‘helping my mate out’. While the subplot of the troubled son courting the prom queen is pushed hard, it ultimately doesn’t work, and the final battle scene between Walter and the puppet feels too much like leftovers from the Carrey script, given a sinister element in the context of discussing mental illness.
Jodie, this is “William ‘Riggs’ Wallace”, helping him normally means you’ll end up dead, girl!
