The Beaver (2011)

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

Director:

Jodie Foster

Writer:

Kyle Killen

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin

2 wins & 12 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:

depression | suicidal | hospital | marriage problems | marriage | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jim Carrey and Steve Carell were previously attached to play the lead character.

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Goofs

When Henry Black is hammering in the middle of the night, in one scene the nail holding the wheel is partially hit into place, he asks for 10 more minutes but the next scene shows the nail in all the way with no further hammering.

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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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Crazy Credits

A letter or two from each cast/crew member remains and forms part of the next credit.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #19.111 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Entrance of the Gladiators
Written by Julius Fucík

User Reviews

Gibson Good As 'The Beaver'

Wow, this is an odd movie. Well, kudos for the originality and the ability, I assume, to keep most people tuned to the screen for the hour-and-a-half.

I think the lure of the film is it gets you involved to the point where you just have to find out how all this insanity is going to wind up although - except for one shocking twist - it's fairly predictable.

In fact, the film becomes very close to being a "movie of the week" or Lifetime -TV stage, but Gibson's character and the great dialog and voice of "The Beaver" (Gibson sounding exactly like Ray Winstone), snaps it back to a story that re-grabs your attention, time after time, with the darkness of mental illness.

Gibson is great as "Walter Black" and Jodie Foster and the rest of the cast hold their own in here.

The film is worth a look; just don't take it seriously as some treatise on depression. It does have some dark, scary moments in between the comedy and melodrama. It's unique in that aspect.

Details

Official Sites:

Vidio [Indonesia]

Country:

USA United Arab Emirates

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 2011 (Germany)

Also Known As:

The Beaver

Filming Locations:

Steiner Studios - 15 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$21,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$107,577, 8 May 2011

Gross USA:

$970,816

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,294,800

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summit Entertainment, Participant, Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1