The Beaver (7/10)

I would say Mel Gibson is back but he wasn't that great before. Don't get me wrong, he has his good performances and a few legendary characters. Yet he has perhaps never had a performance this great. Gibson is 100% dedicated to making his little friends believable. The film follows Walter (Mel Gibson) who is hopelessly depressed. It's not like he hasn't tried to fix his life, he's tried just about everything and yet he remains a empty shell. His wife and his two kids live in a separate house. They of course are now distant. The oldest son (Anton Yelchin) is looking to erase every detail about his connection to his "loser/freak" father. Only with the help of a hand puppet Beaver will Walter conquer his depression. He creates a sort of barrier where the beaver takes over Walter's life. The idea of the puppet curing depression seems unlikely, but hell at least they try to explain the interesting plot point. The film is a character study and does deal with depression quiet well. It's not overly great but still quiet likable.

7/10
Recommendation: If you like Mel Gibson (as an actor, let's ignore his personal life as horrible at it is), Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin or Jennifer Lawrence then this is a film to check out.