Jodie Foster is back at the directorial helm with this poignant look at the dysfunctional family.  Walter Black is a severely depressed man estranged from his wife Meredith, hated by his eldest son Porter and mildly amusing to his youngest son Henry.  Just when Walter is hitting rock bottom with his battle, he stumbles onto a discovery that changes his view of the world, his outlook on life, and most importantly his relationship with his family.  Enter ‘The Beave’ or Beaver; a hand puppet that Walter uses (or is it the other way around?) to channel his inner psychiatrist and help release the vibrant personality hidden beneath his outwardly gruff and depressed exterior.  With the beaver’s Scottish-toned voice of charm and confidence leading the charge, Walter finds renewed passion with his distant workaholic wife, a workable relationship with his two sons Porter and Henry and manages to pull his company into newfound heights of growth.  The problem is no one believes the beaver is leading the transformation.  That somehow Walter is channeling his lost personality into the puppet and not the other way around.  He wrestles with that notion of control while his tepidly supportive family attempts to keep their lives together while his is achingly falling apart.

Mel Gibson (Ransom) may be on the naughty list of the Hollywood power elite (which might explain why this film opened limited and weakly last week), but those folks should allow his past transgressions and recognize how solid and powerful his performance is in this film come Awards season.  His emotional range and unwavering ability to separate the voice of Walter Black and the Ray Winstone’ish sounding beaver was well timed and never forced.  You wonder if he spent time training with a ventriloquist.  His portrayal of the inner struggle of dealing with depression is hands down his best display of acting ability.  Some of that credit has to go to a good Director, and in this case it’s the more than capable Jodie Foster (Little Man Tate).  No stranger to directing dramas, the film opens with such a striking mood and camera movement I thought for a second she had elevated her skills, but the visual feel fades after the first act and transitions back to the normal ebb and flow of a melodrama.  Foster’s character Meredith is strong and convincing, but no stretch to Foster’s ability in comparison to her last few roles which have essentially been the same type of character (reference: Panic Room, The Brave One, Flightplan).  The film focuses on the kids and their relationships so it’s fitting there’s not much ‘mommy time’ which helps Foster slink away to get behind the camera.  I was surprised that Jennifer Lawrence (X-Men: First Class) who portrays Norah, Porter’s would-be girlfriend, wasn’t more effective.  Coming off last year’s Oscar darling ‘Winter’s Bone’ where she garnered a nod for Best Actress – I expected something more of her ability.  Her character was flat, unfeeling and completely unconvincing and at times, I daresay oddly unattractive.  Not in that OMG! or US Weekly way, but in that ‘makes you question if a face double was used in various scenes’ way.   At times, it truly appeared as though a different actress was playing the role.

The Beaver is entertaining as far as Gibson’s efforts go, and even makes a plausible effort to endear the supporting characters, but it just doesn’t flow from beginning to end like a drama of this caliber would, or even should.   The film has a very short runtime of 91 minutes, but you don’t feel it – if anything it’s the opposite, it actually feels longer.  I can only hope that Gibson is smiled upon come awards time, but other than that you won’t get much else from this one.

2 Stars out of 5.

The Beaver is rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, some disturbing content, sexuality and language including a drug reference.  Running Time: 91 minutes

I can’t lie to you — I just about died laughing at these pictures taken from the set of Jodie Foster’s The Beaver featuring Mel Gibson. I have no idea if the finished product will provide half as many laughs as these still did, but if so, Mel might be delivering his most enjoyable product since Signs, and even that’s a stretch for some.

I’m not sure if it’s Gibson’s slack-jawed expression or the hilarious design of the titular Beaver that did me in, and to be honest I don’t entirely care.

The film centers around Walter (Gibson),

“[a] troubled father and husband and CEO of a stalling toy company [who gives voice to] The Beaver, a glove puppet that Walter finds, starts to wear without pause, and adopts as a kind of avatar through which he carries out all of his communication. Almost all of the dialogue given to the lead actor throughout the entire screenplay will have to come from the Beaver, and be delivered in [what screenwriter Kyle Killen describes as] a ‘crisp English accent’.”

The film sat on the 2008 Black List, a list of the best unproduced screenplays from a given year — and true to form, everything I’ve heard about the script tells me it’ll be a riot. Mel Gibson needs redemption, and one of the few avenues open to him at this point is something as off-kilter as this.

This is Foster’s first directorial effort since 1995′s Home for the Holidays. The film will co-star Anton Yelchin of Star Trek fame and Jennifer Lawrence. The Beaver will be released on an undetermined date in 2011.

Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster are both circling around the property of The Beaver, a drama about a man who has a beaver hand puppet that he treats around like a real animal of sorts. Gibson is in talks at the moment to play the some what imaginatively intriguing lead. Foster on the other hand is not only looking around to co-star alongside the talented actor but to jump into the director’s chair for this particular flick.

Directed by Kyle Killen, this particular film has been dangled around quite a few faces and is expected to possibly start production by the end of this year. The release date is estimated to be placed sometime in 2011