Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

The Beaver Blu-ray Movie Review

Disappointing.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 23, 2011

I'm the Beaver...and I'm here to save your g-----n life.

What is The Beaver all about? Is it just the story of a crazy middle aged man who wears a puppet beaver on his left arm and proves throughout the movie why he failed ventriloquism school? Not hardly. This isn't The Muppets. This isn't kid stuff. This is advanced psychology, and it's not even really about the puppet with a man's hand up its rear end -- so says the beaver itself. So what is it, then? The Beaver is a complex Drama about a lost man -- both metaphorically and to a lesser extent, literally -- who embarks on an unconventional inner and outer last-chance quest to turn his life around. It's about a family that loves him and needs him but doesn't like what he's become -- before or after the Beaver -- and that fears turning out just like him, for one family member to the point of obsession. It's a complex picture that covers an issue of vastly greater complexity. Unfortunately, that might also be its downfall. So wound up is The Beaver in trying to cram so many emotional and thematic undercurrents into itself that it sometimes seems to lose sight of where it's going and what it wants to say. Ultimately, however, it seems that The Beaver is about the understanding of one very troubled life both individually and within the greater context of how it fits in with those lives that surround it. It's also about accepting the truths of the world -- whatever those truths may be for each individual -- and making them a part of life rather than something from which to escape. It's about a means towards an end, a release, eschewing conformity and doing what the soul wants and going where the soul leads -- for better or for worse -- in the pursuit of the life one makes for himself or herself as it's a sum-total collection of each and every experience, word, tragedy, and celebration that have all come down to each moment that ticks away forevermore.

Thank you! I just had it stuffed.

Walter Black (Mel Gibson) is a man "hopelessly depressed." He's married, is the father of two kids, and he runs a national toy company, but his life is in the dumps nevertheless. His marriage to his wife Meredith (Jodie Foster) is on the brink, his eldest son Porter (Anton Yelchin) is afraid of turning into him, his youngest son Henry (Riley Thomas Stewart) is a loner, and his company is on the verge of total collapse. Nothing's worked to bring Walter out of his depression. He spends most of his day sleeping and contemplating suicide. When he and his wife finally split ways, Walter discovers a dusty old beaver hand puppet. he wears it during two failed suicide attempts, and suddenly the beaver speaks to him: it's there to save his life, it says. Of course, that's Walter speaking through it; the beaver becomes his voice, his therapist, his best friend. Walter does nothing without going and speaking through the puppet, whether interacting with his family or working to turn his business around. At first, it seems as if the beaver has become Walter's savior, but as time progresses, it becomes clear that Walter is in danger of becoming forever lost to the whims of his alter ego. Meanwhile, Porter has befriended his school's valedictorian (Jennifer Lawrence) after agreeing to write her graduation speech.

The Beaver is a well-maning movie, of that there seems no doubt. But it's too much. It's not too much emotionally, though, just the opposite. It's so determined, it seems, to be the great powerful film it should be that it loses sight of its goal and muddles around its themes to the point that there doesn't seem to be much meat to the story when it's all said and done. The movie meanders here and there as the story develops but it's difficult to grasp the greater whole as it relates to Walter's story which is incredibly fascinating and challenging but not as deep and fleshed out as it should be. In fact, it's the story of Walter's son Porter and his "girlfriend" that plays as the more balanced, approachable, purposeful, and meaningful story. Even then, however, the picture fails to succinctly tie together Porter's uncanny ability to "get into other people's heads" and understand them to the point that he can become them, at least on paper, yet he absolutely fails to connect on such a level with his own father. The question rises, then, why such a focus on what's clearly a secondary story when the two don't connect as they should? It's just another in a disappointing string of elements that keep The Beaver from living up to its potential as a powerhouse emotional manipulator and psychologically purposeful picture.

Still, The Beaver presents audiences with a wonderfully fascinating concept, and no matter how spotty the execution may be, it's worth a watch -- maybe two -- for the potential and the chance that maybe it'll eventually click into place. At the very least, The Beaver provides some juicy tidbits suitable for consumption and later contemplation. What, exactly, defines the relationship between Walter and his puppet? Beyond the psychological aid, what are the implications of a transference that runs so deep that a living mind and soul are suddenly and seemingly irreversibly given to an empty, lifeless hand puppet? Which is the more legitimate "version" of Walter, the biological entity or that which speaks for him and is in essence home to what makes -- or made -- Walter a man, not his physical form but his spirit? How will that drain of the invisible, the essence, change Walter the walking, living man? If living his life through a Beaver allows him to survive in the physical, is it a worthwhile tradeoff? Is Walter truly "living" through the transference, or is his body simply in the way? Can the two co-exist or, if the situation warrants, can the two separate? Where is the demarcation line, and what will happen when -- or if -- the puppet is forcibly taken away by Walter or by another? What does the film say about conformity, acceptance, understanding, stigmas, mental health, family relations, and a deteriorating subconsciousness? The Beaver explores all of these elements, but not to a satisfactory or complete level. Ultimately, this is a picture with a rock-solid foundation but a flimsy yet well-meaning basic structure that's more successful at presenting ideas than it is at analyzing them.

The Beaver Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Beaver chews out a strong but occasionally flawed 1080p Blu-ray transfer. Though a touch soft, smeared, and listless in a few spots, the image generally offers good detailing across the board. Facial and clothing textures are often complex and natural, while surrounding objects are sharp and shapely. Clarity is amazing for the most part, and the image is mostly clean, save for a few random white speckles that briefly and sporadically appear. Colors are extraordinarily vibrant; the palette is never lacking in brightness or stability. Flesh tones favor an ever-so-slightly warm appearance, but the image is never excessively hot or, on the other end of the spectrum, unnaturally pale. Black levels are rock-solid, inky and dark but not detrimental to close-up fine details. The image is free of banding, blocky backgrounds, and other assorted maladies. A very light layer of grain rounds out a high quality yet not-quite-perfect image from Summit Entertainment.

The Beaver Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Beaver sports a high quality DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Overall, the track is smooth as silk. Music enjoys top-level clarity, delivering a natural, realistic presence throughout the entire range, no matter what's playing. Popular music in particular is seamlessly spacious and enjoys excellent flow; it's very well balanced across the entire front half of the soundstage, not to mention its subtle surround support structure. Ambience is light and limited but natural and pleasing; the track makes subtle use of every speaker in the 5-channel configuration to carry mood-enhancing elements that nicely reinforce the film's locations, be they hustle-bustle busy or just random natural outdoor atmosphere. Finally, dialogue reproduction is faultless. Certainly, this isn't exactly a memorable or in any way notable lossless mix, but Summit's presentation handles the picture's fairly limited-in-scope soundtrack wonderfully.

The Beaver Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Beaver arrives on Blu-ray with a trio of extras, the best of which is a relatively compact making-of piece that does a fair job of dissecting the movie in a short amount of time.

• Audio Commentary: Director/Actor Jodie Foster offers a straightforward analysis of the picture, speaking on the character's complexities, the work of the cast, the picture's themes and emotions, the picture's score, the procedure of editing the picture together and the resultant stylistic choices, set construction and shooting locations, and more. There are some gaps in the track and it's not particularly engaging.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 4:52): Role Play and Puppet Pull with optional Jodie Foster commentary.
• Everything is Going to Be OK (1080p, 12:06): This brief making-of piece features cast and crew discussing the "dark" and "amusing" motion picture The Beaver. They speak on the picture's balance and tone, its themes, the story's psychological complexities, the quality of the cast and the performances, the picture's emotional current, and more.

The Beaver Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Beaver is a frustrating picture on several levels. Nothing's quite as developed as it ought to be, not the characters, the story, the emotions, or the film's purpose and lessons. It's far too jumbled, tries too hard, and never quite manages to form a fully-coherent whole. It's a shame, because The Beaver has the potential to be a great movie, one with resounding meaning and long-lasting purpose. As it is, it's a decent but frustrating watch that boasts a great a idea and a powerhouse cast but little else. Summit's Blu-ray release of The Beaver features strong video and audio alongside a few extras. Recommended as a rental.