Mel Gibson stars in The Beaver, a surprisingly uncompromising drama about mental illness and glove puppets.
The Beaverwasnt the film I was expecting to see.
This is certainly what the trailer hinted at, if I remember rightly.
Mel Gibson stars as Walter Black, a middle-aged man at the absolute nadir of depression.
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What all this points to is a tale of redemption that is typically Hollywood.
Killens script flirts with cliches, but never gives in to them entirely.
And yet, at the same time, you cant ignore all the things thatThe Beaverdoes extremely well.
Fosters direction is excellent, and shes clearly great with actors.
Every member of the supporting cast, from Anton Yelchin to Jennifer Lawrence, is uniformly excellent.
Rating:
4 out of 5
