The Beaver (2011)

Director:

Jodie Foster

Writer (WGA):

Kyle Killen (written by)

Release Date:

19 May 2011 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

He's here to save Walter's life.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Puppet | Beaver Puppet | Title Directed By Female | Depressive Disorder | Animal In Title

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

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

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Guy Efrat	....	second second assistant director
Marcos González Palma	....	assistant director: additional photography
Marcos González Palma	....	second second assistant director
Francisco Ortiz	....	second assistant director
Doug Torres	....	first assistant director

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

Camera and Electrical Department
Matt Blades	....	key grip
Patrick M. Bracey	....	camera production assistant
Bernard X. Brongniart	....	best boy grip
Vincent Camuto	....	video playback technician
Oliver Cary	....	camera operator: additonal photography
Doug Cordonier	....	grip
Jason Cortazzo	....	libra head technician
Larhn Davitt	....	grip
Julian J. Delacruz	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Frank G. DeMarco	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Frank G. DeMarco	....	camera operator: second unit
Frank G. DeMarco	....	cinematographer: second unit
James Dombey	....	grip
Tim Ferraer	....	grip
Andrew Hamilton	....	loader
Matthew Jacobs	....	grip
Peter Kantor	....	grip
Glenn Kaplan	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
John Krause	....	dolly grip
Dan Kubicek	....	electrician
Michael A. Leo	....	lamp operator
Hamilton Longyear	....	camera loader: additional photography
William MacGhee	....	electrician
Todd MacNicholl	....	key rigging grip
Michael J. Maurer	....	best boy
Charles Meere III	....	rigging gaffer
Toby Miller	....	additional electrician
Michael J. Mullen	....	rigging best boy
Michael J. Mullen	....	stage rigging gaffer
Balint Pinczehelyi	....	rigging grip
Steve Ramsey	....	gaffer
Daniel Wallenstein	....	grip

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)

Production Companies

• Summit Entertainment (presents)
• Participant Media (presents)
• Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ (in association with)
• Anonymous Content (in association with)

Distributors

• Alfa Films (2011) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Aurum Producciones (2011) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Belga Films (2011) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Concorde Filmverleih (2011) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Empire (2011) (Lebanon) (theatrical)
• Entertainment One Benelux (2011) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Entertainment One (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Fida Film (2011) (Turkey) (theatrical)
• Icon Entertainment International (2011) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Icon Entertainment International (2011) (UK) (theatrical)
• Langlois (2012) (Japan) (theatrical) (in association with)
• Lusomundo (2011) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Medusa Distribuzione (2011) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Nordisk Film Distribution (2011) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Nordisk Film (2011) (Norway) (theatrical)
• Nu Metro Productions (2011) (South Africa) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2011) (Greece) (theatrical)
• SND (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (2011) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Summit Entertainment (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Tele München Fernseh Produktionsgesellschaft (TMG) (2011) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Twin Co. Ltd. (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Volga (2011) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2011) (Switzerland) (all media)
• Aurum Producciones (2011) (Spain) (all media)
• Belga Home Vidéo (2011) (Belgium) (DVD)
• CatchPlay (2011) (Taiwan) (all media)
• Entertainment One Benelux (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Entertainment One Benelux (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Film1 (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Mongkol Major (2011) (Thailand) (all media)
• Nordisk Film (2011) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Panorama Distributions (2011) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Panorama Distributions (2011) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Paris Filmes (2011) (Brazil) (all media)
• Summit Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2012) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Zon Lusomundo Audiovisuais (2011) (Portugal) (all media)

Special Effects

• Alterian
• Phosphene (visual effects)

Other Companies

• 11:11 Mediaworks  titles
• David Haddad  transportation equipment
• Eye2Ear Music  music consultant
• Gotham Sound and Communications  walkies provided by (as Gotham Sound)
• Haddad's  transportation equipment
• Lightnin' Production Rentals  transportation equipment
• Pivotal Post  Avid HD Editing Equipment Provided By
• Trevanna Post  post-production accounting

Also Known As:

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA | United Arab Emirates

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #46281) | Malaysia:PG-13 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Ireland:15A | Canada:13+ (Québec) | UK:12A | Germany:6 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:13 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:12 | Japan:G

Filming Locations:

1125 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Summit Entertainment

Trivia:

Before Summit Entertainment settled for a release date in Spring 2011, this film had been shelved due to Mel Gibson allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Meridith, Henry, and Porter are moving out they are shown packing things. Porter is shown removing his map that covers the hole in the wall, he rolls it up and puts it away. Then Mel Gibson is on The Today Show his son Porter is shown sitting in his room watching television with the map back up and covering the hole in the wall. In the following scenes the map is removed.

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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Estrenos Críticos: El Castor, NowhereBoy... (#1.1)" (2011)

Soundtrack:

Swim Until You Can't See Land

Gibson is great, the movie is not

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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