| Photos (See all 13 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 14) |
| 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 | |
| Jon Stewart | ... | Jon Stewart | |
| Terry Gross | ... | Terry Gross | |
| Folake Olowofoyeku | ... | Nurse | |
| Lorna Pruce | ... | Nurse | |
| Bill Massof | ... | Prosthetic Technician | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Orli Hersch | ... | Hector's Sister | |
| Ernest E. Brown | ... | Drum circle Drumer (uncredited) | |
| Chiquita Camille | ... | Physical Therapist (uncredited) | |
| Barbara Ann Davison | ... | Seamstress (uncredited) | |
| Ai Kiyono | ... | Asian Escort (uncredited) | |
| Michelle E. Mancini | ... | Student (uncredited) | |
| Sakura Sugihara | ... | YUMI (uncredited) | |
| Bill Walters | ... | Bongo Drummer in Drum Circle (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Jodie Foster | |||
Writing credits(WGA) | ||
| Kyle Killen | (written by) | |
Produced by | |||
| Mohamed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei | .... | executive producer (as Mohamed Mubarak Al Mazrouei) | |
| Dianne Dreyer | .... | associate producer | |
| Steve Golin | .... | producer | |
| Paul Green | .... | executive producer | |
| Jonathan King | .... | executive producer | |
| Keith Redmon | .... | producer | |
| Ann Ruark | .... | producer | |
| Jeff Skoll | .... | executive producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Marcelo Zarvos | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Hagen Bogdanski | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Lynzee Klingman | |||
Casting by | |||
| Allison Hall | |||
| Avy Kaufman | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Mark Friedberg | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Alex DiGerlando | |||
| Kim Jennings | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Rebecca Meis DeMarco | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Susan Lyall | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| LuAnn Claps | .... | makeup department head | |
| Tony Gardner | .... | special makeup designer | |
| Timothy Huizing | .... | specialty props | |
| Michael Marino | .... | prosthetic fx: reshoots | |
| Nicky Pattison | .... | key makeup artist | |
| Nicole Wodowski | .... | additional makeup artist: extras | |
Production Management | |||
| Gwen Bialic | .... | assistant production manager | |
| Luca Borghese | .... | post-production supervisor | |
| Ann Ruark | .... | unit production manager | |
Art Department | |||
| Anthony Baldasare | .... | set dresser | |
| Nikki Black | .... | assistant art director | |
| Paul Camarro | .... | on-set dresser: reshoots | |
| Lydia Fine | .... | art department production assistant | |
| Kim Fischer | .... | art department intern | |
| Frank-Joseph Frelier | .... | art department coordinator | |
| Vanessa Frost | .... | construction assistant | |
| Isaac Gabaeff | .... | set dresser | |
| Jonathan Graham | .... | key construction grip | |
| Arlo Hoffman | .... | on-set greens | |
| Jonathan Huggins | .... | leadman | |
| Aaron Jacobs | .... | construction grip | |
| Warren Jorgensen | .... | camera scenic artist | |
| Francis Maiorino | .... | set dresser | |
| Brick Mason | .... | storyboard artist | |
| Nick Miller | .... | construction coordinator | |
| Kris Moran | .... | property master | |
| Jessica Panuccio | .... | set decorating buyer: reshoots | |
| Jessie Pellegrino | .... | art department assistant | |
| Susan Perlman | .... | assistant set decorator | |
| Ernie Sandidge | .... | industrial scenic | |
| Will Scheck | .... | greens coordinator | |
| Theo Sena | .... | on-set dresser | |
| Kimberly Slosek | .... | assistant property master: reshoots | |
| Joel Weaver | .... | assistant property master | |
| Ryan Webb | .... | assistant property master | |
| Anastasia White | .... | art department assistant | |
| Wolf-Dieter Stoeffelmeier | .... | scenic (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| Wade Barnett | .... | adr recordist | |
| Wayne Bartlett | .... | adr recordist | |
| Sean England | .... | foley artist | |
| Doug Ford | .... | engineering services | |
| Nia Hansen | .... | foley mixer | |
| Matthew Hartman | .... | assistant sound editor | |
| Lora Hirschberg | .... | re-recording mixer | |
| Tom Johnson | .... | re-recording mixer | |
| Michael Kirchberger | .... | supervising sound editor | |
| Scott R. Lewis | .... | assistant sound re-recording mixer | |
| Travis MacKay | .... | adr mixer | |
| Dmitri Makarov | .... | digital editorial services | |
| Michael Miller | .... | adr mixer | |
| John Nutt | .... | foley editor | |
| Jan Petrov | .... | adr recordist | |
| James J. Sabat Jr. | .... | sound recordist | |
| James Sabat | .... | sound mixer | |
| Mike Schmidt | .... | boom operator | |
| Robert Shoup | .... | dialogue editor | |
| James Spencer | .... | recordist | |
| Corey Tyler | .... | foley recordist | |
| Roy Waldspurger | .... | sound effects editor | |
| Ronni Brown | .... | foley artist (uncredited) | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Peter A. Chevako | .... | mechanical effects | |
| Tim Rossiter | .... | special effects coordinator | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| John Bair | .... | visual effects supervisor | |
| Jake Braver | .... | visual effects set supervisor | |
| Chris Connolly | .... | visual effects producer | |
| Molle DeBartolo | .... | digital restoration artist | |
| Brian Haimes | .... | digital compositor | |
| Tara Marie Jacobson | .... | rotoscope artist (as Tara Jacobson) | |
| Christian Lowe | .... | visual effects artist | |
| Thomas Panayiotou | .... | digital compositor | |
| Aaron Raff | .... | visual effects | |
| Scott Winston | .... | compositing supervisor | |
Stunts | |||
| G.A. Aguilar | .... | stunt coordinator | |
| John Cenatiempo | .... | assistant stunt coordinator | |
| J.C. Robaina | .... | stunt rigger | |
Casting Department | |||
| Stephanie Forrest | .... | extras casting assistant | |
| Leeba Zakharov | .... | casting associate | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Caitlin Doukas | .... | costume production assistant | |
| Amy Ritchings | .... | assistant costume designer | |
| Minerva Diann Savoy | .... | tailor | |
| Hartsell Taylor | .... | costume supervisor | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Gilbert Carreras | .... | color timer | |
| Tara Fidler | .... | second assistant editor | |
| Joe Gawler | .... | digital intermediate colorist | |
| Michael Hofacre | .... | additional editor | |
| Anthony Raffaele | .... | colorist: dailies | |
| Tatiana S. Riegel | .... | additional editor | |
| Josh Salzberg | .... | assistant editor | |
| Jonathan Sanden | .... | digital intermediate editor | |
| Darrell R. Smith | .... | digital intermediate supervising producer | |
| Jered Zalman | .... | assistant editor | |
| Leslie Adkins-Garza | .... | post-production coordinator (uncredited) | |
| Matt Breitenbach | .... | assistant telecine colorist (uncredited) | |
Music Department | |||
| Christine Bergren | .... | music legal and clearance | |
| Mark Bächle | .... | orchestrator | |
| Gary Chester | .... | score contractor | |
| Paul Katz | .... | music consultant | |
| Richard King | .... | music scoring engineer | |
| Alexandra Patsavas | .... | music supervisor | |
| Michael Perfitt | .... | score engineer | |
| Petr Pycha | .... | orchestra contractor | |
| Philip Rothman | .... | orchestrator | |
| Tim Starnes | .... | assistant music editor | |
| Erich Stratmann | .... | music editor | |
| E. Gedney Webb | .... | music editor | |
| Curt Sobel | .... | preview music editor (uncredited) | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Steven R. Guglielmetti | .... | driver | |
Other crew | |||
| Caellum Allan | .... | physical production | |
| Malcolm Alston | .... | location scout | |
| Emma Baksi | .... | assistant: Jodie Foster | |
| Ainsley Bartholomew | .... | accounting clerk/payroll assistant: additional photography | |
| Brian Bergdoll | .... | stand-in: Mel Gibson | |
| Charles Birns | .... | on-set assistant: Jodie Foster | |
| Justin Bischoff | .... | key production assistant | |
| David E. Bisson | .... | production secretary | |
| Anna Bosco | .... | key accountant | |
| Matthew Branin | .... | accounting clerk | |
| Stefan Brunner | .... | production executive: Imagenation Abu Dhabi | |
| Billy Bryan | .... | puppeteering coach (as Bill Bryan) | |
| James Coker | .... | key set production assistant: additional photography | |
| Christina Cortez | .... | production assistant | |
| Jeff Cossaboom | .... | office production assistant | |
| Charlie Dibe | .... | production coordinator: additional photography | |
| Dianne Dreyer | .... | script supervisor | |
| Guy Efrat | .... | location manager: additional photography unit | |
| Erik Feig | .... | production executive | |
| Matthew Fleischman | .... | production assistant | |
| Sarah Follett | .... | location assistant: additional photography | |
| Joshua A. Friedman | .... | paperwork production assistant | |
| Vincent Giarratano | .... | production assistant | |
| Kyle Gorjanc | .... | production assistant: additional photography | |
| Steve Grivno | .... | assistant location manager (as Stephen Grivno) | |
| Duck Grossberg | .... | data wrangler | |
| Katie Groves | .... | stand-in: Jennifer Lawrence | |
| David 'Gus' Gustafson | .... | production assistant: additional photography | |
| Jennifer Hallmark | .... | assistant accountant | |
| David Hsu | .... | set production assistant | |
| Eric A. Knapp | .... | location coordinator | |
| Kyle Knauf | .... | stand in: Anton Yelchin | |
| Kristina Lee | .... | assistant production coordinator: reshoots | |
| Giovanni Lopez | .... | insurance broker | |
| Jess Magee | .... | location assistant | |
| Anney McKilligan | .... | puppet wrangler | |
| John Merchant | .... | assistant production coordinator | |
| Liz Modena | .... | post production accountant | |
| Matthew Monaco | .... | first assistant accountant | |
| Tim Monich | .... | dialect coach | |
| Morgan Newell | .... | assistant: Ann Ruark | |
| Patrick O'Connor | .... | production assistant | |
| Eric Papa | .... | location assistant: additional photography unit | |
| Ellen Parnett | .... | production assistant | |
| Jennalee Rhodes | .... | production assistant | |
| Pamela Rook | .... | office production assistant | |
| Matthew Roper | .... | set medic | |
| Michael James 'Scotty' Scott | .... | manager: production finance | |
| William Sepulveda | .... | key craft service | |
| Missy Simms | .... | welfare/studio teacher | |
| Ryan Smith | .... | location manager | |
| Todd Steiner | .... | production financing | |
| Daniela Tully | .... | vp of development and production: imagenation abu dhabi | |
| Eva Vedock | .... | key craft service | |
| Daniel Wagner | .... | production coordinator | |
| Lynn Witty | .... | stand-in: jodie foster (uncredited) | |
| Brenda Yoo | .... | first assistant accountant | |
| Michael Gugger | .... | intern: locations (uncredited) | |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Drama section | IMDb USA section |
Walter Black (Mel Gibson) is a chronically depressed, miserable man who has been lost in a dark cloud of despair for years. He has driven the toy company his father founded to the brink of bankruptcy and that's nothing compared to the damage he's done to his family. His youngest son (Riley Thomas Stewart) doesn't essentially doesn't have a father, his oldest son (Anton Yelchin) despises him, and his wife (Jodie Foster) has kicked him out of the house. As the voice-over tells us, Walter died inside long ago but his body didn't have the decency to follow suit. On a serious bender, Walter finds a beaver hand puppet in a dumpster and when he comes to after a failed suicide attempt, he begins to speak to himself through the beaver (with a British accent, no less). He develops his own form of therapy, speaking only through the beaver and begins to reintegrate himself into the lives of his family members and his company with great success. Before long, however, Walter can no longer find the line of reality between himself and the beaver and watches as all the progress he had made washes away.
The similarities between Walter and Gibson himself are obvious and significant. Add in some unfortunate voicemail rants and a touch of anti-Semitism and this could play as a Gibson documentary. These similarities are also where "The Beaver" makes its money. Walter's transition seems authentic (to a point) as if Gibson himself is undergoing the therapy along with his character. He exhibits the right character traits of man who has lost his way and is struggling to find a way back and the work he does with facial expressions, body language, etc. is rich. It's quite possible that, as a Gibson fan and someone who wants to see him get back on track, I could be exaggerating the overall quality of his performance but I think a great deal is asked of him in this roll and he delivers. I wouldn't go so far as to call this a superb performance but it is solid and compelling and an example of just how good Gibson can be when he gives himself a chance.
The other elements within "The Beaver" represent a decisive step down from the work done by Gibson. Foster's character never really finds a foothold to become substantial and her work as director is satisfactory but unspectacular. Kyle Killen's script is uneven, too drawn out in some parts but rushed in others resulting in a film that doesn't develop quite the way I believe it was supposed to. And while I am generally down with a darker narrative, "The Beaver" is almost overwhelmed with it to the point of frustrating bleakness. Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence (the Valedictorian cheerleader) have some nice moments together but their relationship is poorly developed and is treated at times like a distraction from the storyline involving Walter. A lot could have been done with Yelchin's character and his relationship with Walter but it stagnates early on and just barely reaches for redemption in the end. All totaled, "The Beaver" is a good movie with one great performance that carries the film much further than it could have gone otherwise. It is a worthwhile viewing but not one that I'd look forward to seeing again.
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