The Beaver
The Beaver.
Directed by Jodie Foster
Starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster
As a movie, The Beaver works in a couple ways. First, the seemingly simple, innocent title hides the deep, twisted, often-dark story of man, Walter, plagued by depression. As Walter's mental and physical house crumbles around him, he's faced with the ledge of a high-rise hotel balcony and imminent fall to the pavement below.
Walter finds a puppet beaver in a box of household goods he's packed in his truck; following an order to leave the house, by his very stressed-but-loving wife, played by Jodie Foster. Walter creates an identity for the puppet - complete with accent and mannerisms. While Walter talks, and moves the mouth of the puppet, The Beaver creates a strong, happy, decisive personality. The Beaver leads Walter's business (Walter inherited a toy company) to a booming success. Walter - via the Beaver - becomes close to his family again.
Things turn dark as the Beaver's personality consumes and eventually tires to destroy the 'real' Walter. Eventually, Walter sees he's losing himself, and takes drastic measures to remove himself from The Beaver.
This movie is - in a word - outstanding. I suspect I have not seen Mel Gibson punctuate a performance to this level. Direction is brilliant as Jodie Foster plays her role perfectly, letting the audience inside the mind of a woman who desperately loves her husband, yet tries to cope with the hard decisions required for her own sanity, and that of her two children.
If you like intelligent, real, and meaningful movies, rent or buy The Beaver. If I had to pick my favourite movies of all time, The top 10 would include movies like 'Star Wars' and 'The Silence of the Lambs' and now, 'The Beaver'.
“… the greatest detractor from high performance is fear: fear that you are not prepared, fear that you are in over your head, fear that you are not worthy, and ultimately, fear of failure. If you can eliminate that fear—not through arrogance or just wishing difficulties away, but through hard work and preparation—you will put yourself in an incredibly powerful position to take on the challenges you face" - Pete Carroll.
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Originally Posted by ConHog
