The Beaver
2011 · United States · 91 min
- Director
- Jodie Foster
- Screenplay
- Kyle Killen
- Producer
- Steve Golin
- Music
- Marcelo Zarvos
- Cinematography
- Hagen Bogdanski
- Editing
- Lynzee Klingman
- Production company
- Summit Entertainment
Cast
What it is about
Walter Black runs a toy company on the verge of bankruptcy and sinks into a deep depression that unsettles his family. After his wife asks him to leave, he moves into a hotel and finds a beaver hand puppet that changes the way he deals with the people around him. The film looks, with a mix of drama and humor, at how this device, meant as a path to recovery, takes up more and more of his daily life and of the lives of those close to him, while his elder son Porter tries to stay out of it.
How it was made
Kyle Killen's screenplay topped The Black List of unproduced scripts in 2008. Jodie Foster directed the film and also plays the protagonist's wife. Before Mel Gibson was hired, Steve Carell and Jim Carrey were both attached to the lead at different stages. On a budget of 21 million dollars, the shoot took place in Westchester County and New York City, with part of the film made at White Plains Senior High School, and wrapped in November 2009. Matt Lauer appears as himself.
Reception and legacy
Critics gave it mixed to positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes lists a 62 percent score from 125 reviews, and Metacritic assigns it a 59 out of 100 based on 32 opinions. Foster's direction and Gibson's performance drew praise, though several critics questioned the premise, and Roger Ebert gave it two and a half stars out of four. At the box office it was a flop: it took in 107,577 dollars over its opening weekend in a limited release. Foster blamed the result on American audiences being uncomfortable with dramedies, and much of the coverage focused on Gibson's well-publicized personal troubles.
Stills
Trivia
Other candidates
Steve Carell and Jim Carrey were both signed to the lead role before Mel Gibson was cast.
A well-regarded script
Kyle Killen's screenplay was one of the most highly rated unproduced scripts on The Black List in 2008.
Filmed at a high school
Part of the film was shot at White Plains Senior High School in New York State.
More films by Jodie Foster
Money Monster
Little Man Tate
Home for the HolidaysOriginal Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (es) and Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.