The Beaver (2011)

All Critics (172) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (104) | Rotten (66) | DVD (6)

It's a bummer of a movie -- dark and at cross-purposes with both itself and any image do-over [Gibson] might be seeking.

October 7, 2011 Full Review

Leah Rozen

The Wrap

Top Critic

Beyond the initial idea, this is kid gloves filmmaking, when what we need is a bit more of the gloves-off stuff.

June 15, 2011 Full Review

Dave Calhoun

Time Out

Top Critic

The acting throughout -- Foster, Lawrence, Yelchin -- is superb, and this may well be Gibson's finest performance, just as it's Foster's most balanced job of directing.

May 20, 2011 Full Review | Comments (3)

Tom Long

Detroit News

Top Critic

The film is amusing, then melancholy, then weirdly funny, then not. It's a quiet, measured work.

May 20, 2011 Full Review

Lisa Kennedy

Denver Post

Top Critic

With The Beaver, Gibson shows that for all his personal turmoil, he still may have a career in the twilight years.

May 20, 2011 Full Review

David Germain

Associated Press

Top Critic

For a film about the real problem of mental illness, it never feels authentic. Depression is not something neatly tied up. If this is meant as an allegory, it's vague and unconvincing.

May 20, 2011 Full Review | Comments (7)

Claudia Puig

USA Today

Top Critic

Mel Gibson's last hurrah

January 14, 2013 Full Review

Roger Moore

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

A unique and thoughtful project that showcases a charming, as well as unconventional, character journey -- and one of Gibson's best roles to date.

October 2, 2012 Full Review

Ben Kendrick

ScreenRant

The device of the beaver is a constant distraction from what is otherwise a compelling tale of a man and family in crisis.

February 4, 2012 Full Review

Michael Dequina

TheMovieReport.com

Sthn trith ths skhnothetikh apopeira, h Jodie Foster akomh den exei piasei thn ennoia toy rakor, alla ayto einai to mikrotero ap' ta problhmata mias dramenti poy pairnei to thema ths katathlipshs arketa elafra, gia na thes na thn aytoktonhseis

September 29, 2011 Full Review

Joseph Proimakis

Movies for the Masses

Moviegoers probably won't be interested in seeing Mel Gibson in an onscreen train wreck that reminds them so much of the mess he's made of his real life.

September 9, 2011 Full Review | Comments (7)

Neil Pond

American Profile

Put the puppet back into the dumpster.

August 20, 2011 Full Review | Comments (3)

Jules Brenner

Cinema Signals

Aside from having a title that turns me into a puerile, sniggering teenager every time I talk about it, The Beaver is a heartbreakingly good movie.

August 11, 2011 Full Review

Tim Martain

The Mercury

Se maneja en el filo entre la comedia absurda y el drama lacrimógeno, una combinación no siempre efectiva. Dentro de un buen elenco se destaca el intento de Mel Gibson por volver a los primeros planos.

August 5, 2011 Full Review | Comments (2)

Enrique Buchichio

Uruguay Total

The Beaver makes for a creative portrayal of mental illness, and of family life around those who live in the dark, reaching a fine balance of drama and comedy.

August 5, 2011 Full Review

Amy Killin

Moviedex

Jodie Foster's The Beaver is a film about mental illness that, refreshingly, isn't like most films about mental illness.

August 3, 2011 Full Review | Comment (1)

William Kostakis

MovieFIX

Mel Gibson is quite wonderful as Walter and it's to Foster's credit that she is able to balance the serious with the bizarre so convincingly.

August 3, 2011 Full Review

Margaret Pomeranz

At the Movies (Australia)

The Beaver is one of the strangest and most inconsistent dramas in recent years.

August 3, 2011 Full Review

Thomas Caldwell

Cinema Autopsy

This is a wholly wasted opportunity for Gibson -- and a disappointing misfire from Foster.

August 1, 2011 Full Review | Comments (2)

Ed Gibbs

Sydney Morning Herald

It is a totally manufactured product, this film, completely free of sincerity and reality

July 31, 2011 Full Review | Comments (2)

Andrew L. Urban

Urban Cinefile

There's a strong and positive sub-text to the story, offering a depth of understanding to an often considered subject that is taboo. But whether audiences will buy Gibson talking with the hand is another question

July 31, 2011 Full Review | Comment (1)

Louise Keller

Urban Cinefile

• 1. Norah: So, while everything may not always be okay, one thing I know is true: You do not have to be alone.
  – Submitted by Eizen B (9 months ago)
• 1. Meredith Black: I came to the party late, but I have never seen anything else that was me, as close as me.
  – Submitted by Kirk T (14 months ago)
• 1. Walter Black: People seem to love a train wreck when it's not happening to them.
  – Submitted by Chad E (18 months ago)
• 1. Walter Black: Starting over isn't crazy. Crazy is being miserable and walking around half asleep, numb, day after day after day. Crazy is pretending to be happy. Pretending that the way things are is the way they have to be for the rest of your bleeding life.
  – Submitted by Chad E (18 months ago)

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