People who embrace The Beaver will like it without reservation. But The Beaver is a film that will divide people.

As directed by Jodie Foster (who also co-stars) The Beaver offers a no holds barred look at depression. You think The Beaver is a comedy, and you will be laughing out loud, only the film turns, like a parabolic mirror on its own reality. If you’ve seen a film called Being There or maybe more currently The Truman Show; that is the grey area of human response that Foster is exploring. Only The Beaver is more than that.

Mel Gibson stars as a family man with a factory to run who one day goes insane and only communicates through a hand puppet. The voice of the puppet is in a Cockney accent and while some may think its Michael Caine, I feel it leans more towards Ray Winstone who Gibson starred with in last year’s Edge of Darkness.

The Beaver also stars Jennifer Lawrence and Anton Yelchin who both figure in a separate subplot. If Foster knows anything it’s how to make a movie look like a movie.

The Beaver constantly challenges the viewer with its singular view that takes in a widescreen perspective with ultimate focus shifting between people watching television (the Kung Fu episode is one in which Foster co-starred in as a child), as well as a beaver hand puppet, in addition to those looking for catharsis in its myriad forms.

- Michael Bergeron