The Beaver (2011)

A troubled husband and executive adopts a beaver hand-puppet as his sole means of communicating.

Director:

Jodie Foster

Writer:

Kyle Killen

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	Walter Black
Cherry Jones	...	Vice President
Jodie Foster	...	Meredith Black
Anton Yelchin	...	Porter Black
Riley Thomas Stewart	...	Henry Black
Zachary Booth	...	Jared
Jennifer Lawrence	...	Norah
Jeff Corbett	...	Volunteer Dad
Baylen Thomas	...	Skeptical Man
Sam Breslin Wright	...	Man
Kelly Coffield Park	...	Norah's Mom
Michael Rivera	...	Hector
Kris Arnold	...	Waiter
Elizabeth Kaledin	...	Reporter
Matt Lauer	...	Matt Lauer

Storyline

Walter Black ('Mel Gibson') is depressed and sleeps most of the day. It's driving his family crazy, and his wife Meredith (Jodie Foster) kicks him out. Walter starts carrying a beaver puppet and tries to commit suicide (unsuccessfully). He uses the puppet to talk to himself, trying to bolster his spirits, and is trying to rebuild his life. Through the beaver, the family begins to learn about Walter's history and problems, and as he continues rebuilding, the beaver shows us all a way to cope.

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Plot Keywords:

puppet | beaver puppet | speech | depression | roller coaster | 

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Taglines:

He's here to save Walter's life.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, some disturbing content, sexuality and language including a drug reference

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Summit Entertainment [United States]

Country:

USA United Arab Emirates

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 2011 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Der Biber

Filming Locations:

Steiner Studios, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$21,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$107,577 (USA) (6 May 2011)

Gross:

$958,319 (USA) (24 June 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summit Entertainment, Participant Media, Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jodie Foster approached originally Kristen Stewart for the role of Norah, remembering their experience in Panic Room (2002), but the actress was committed to the Twilight franchise.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Walter Black: This is a picture of Walter Black, a hopelessly depressed individual. Somewhere inside him is a man who fell in love. Who started a family. Who ran a successful company. That man has gone missing. No matter what he's tried, and he's tried everything, Walter can't seem to bring him back. It's as if he's died, but hasn't had the good sense to take his body with him. So mostly what he does is sleep.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #19.146 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Cocktail Lullaby
Written and Performed by Stephen Edwards
Courtesy of 5 Alarm Music

User Reviews

Broken Man Facing His Demons Works for Gibson

Although it's difficult to watch Mel Gibson now without the backdrop of alcoholism, abuse, bigotry, rants and disappointment, this role may actually be the perfect role for him to re-appear on the screen with sympathy and hope of redemption. He plays this role perfectly and the viewer is sucked into the emotion and distress of all characters dealing with their own challenges. It's a beautiful movie with a powerful message. Some have criticized Jodie Foster's directing, but I found the film to be very balanced with the right amount of comedy and tragedy. I loved the camera work and editing, especially with the Beaver as its own character. I also liked the secondary storyline about the teenagers. All the performances were very good. I think the entire movie is very well done, and although I have not changed my personal opinion of Mel Gibson at all, the movie does make you very sympathetic towards families dealing with crisis including his own, and as an actor, he pulls off a very difficult role.