I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked in to screen Mel Gibson’s latest film, The Beaver (which opens in limited release today).
After all, here’s a man who shot to stardom inhabiting iconic characters practically doused in testosterone: Mad Max, Lethal Weapon’s Martin Riggs, Braveheart’s William Wallace. Then came his critically acclaimed—and just plain criticized—directorial take on Jesus’ crucifixion, The Passion of the Christ.
But his role in The Beaver? It’s about as far from the roles Gibson is most famous for as it could possibly be: A middle-aged, clinically depressed man reduced to speaking through a beaver puppet. Really.
If that role seems far removed from Mel’s action-hero glory, however, it’s also painfully close to what what’s been reported about him in the tabloids the last couple of years. Erratic, drunken, racist and sexist rants caught on tape, combined with allegations of domestic violence, have painted a damning portrait of Gibson as a man on the edge—and one increasingly loathed by many in the entertainment industry who once embraced him.
It’s tempting, then, to file The Beaver as a curiosity in the “art imitates life” file and not give it another thought.
But doing so would mean missing one of Gibson’s most nuanced and thought-provoking roles ever. And watching his tired, haggard, twitching face as Walter Black in The Beaver, I couldn’t help but wonder how much Gibson’s personal travails have informed his portrayal of the deeply broken father and husband he plays here. The result: This Jodie Foster-directed film offers a poignant and at times very raw look at depression and severe mental illness … no matter how preposterous its premise might seem on paper or in the trailers.
Still, I suspect that even if the film’s strange subject matter doesn’t keep people out of theaters, Gibson’s tarnished reputation of late very well might.
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