![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Mel-Gibson-in-The-Beaver.jpg\" "\\"Mel")
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Jodie Foster\u2019s first film as a director in 16 years is a curious drama laced with surreal comedy.<\/p>\n
Opening with the depressed head of a toy company (Mel Gibson) being kicked out of the family home by his wife (Foster, who also stars) and explores how he seemingly turns his life around by talking to people through a beaver hand puppet.<\/p>\n
Loved ones and co-workers are bemused but initially welcome him back, with the exception of his angry teenage son (Anton Yelchin), who strikes up a relationship with a classmate (Jennifer Lawrence) who also has issues of her own.<\/p>\n
Kyle Killen\u2019s script was hot property back in 2008<\/a> and part of the appeal might have been the way it mixes a striking concept within a conventional setting, whilst providing a showy lead role for the central character (Steve Carrell was attached early on).<\/p>\n The resulting production had a rocky joureny to cinemas, as a much publicised voicemail scandal<\/a> involving its star (on the back of other well-documented problems) led to its release being delayed by several months.<\/p>\n But if you put all that pre-release baggage to one side, how does the finished film stand up?<\/p>\n It turns out that the film isn\u2019t bad at all and has surprising levels of emotion if one treats it as a drama, which happens to be sprinkled with humour.<\/p>\n Gibson gives a surprisingly nuanced performance in the lead role, which is no mean feat given that for most of the film he\u2019s talking like Ray Winstone through a hand puppet (for some reason, the beaver has a British accent).<\/p>\n This leads to some bizarre scenes that strain credibility, but given his position of power at work and the relief of his loved ones to have him back home, it just about works.<\/p>\n The scenes where Gibson\u2019s character talks through his puppet actually work pretty well, given that they could have been utterly ridiculous.<\/p>\n In the supporting roles, Foster convinces as an exhausted but loving wife, whilst Yelchin and Lawrence do their best with teenage roles that feel a little underwritten.<\/p>\n Although she hasn\u2019t directed in a long time (her last film was 1995\u2019s Home for the Holidays<\/a>), Foster has mixes the contrasting tones in a way that you don\u2019t often see with Hollywood productions.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/The-Beaver-UK-poster.jpg\" "\\"The")
<\/a>With this all in mind there is poignancy to the finished film, as the parallels between Gibson and his character are painfully apparent. <\/p>\n