The Beaver

"If you can get past your feelings for the troubled Gibson, you get to watch a high-wire performance of the highest caliber (...) This flawed but heartfelt movie has the power to sneak up and floor you (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of four)" 

"A picture that (in a way reminiscent of Lars and the Real Girl) turns a crazy-sounding premise into something moving and sane" 

An emotional runaway of a film that carries neither the insight nor the uplift to make the weight of its dark journey worth it. 

"Even as Kyle Killen's script becomes ever more implausible and ultimately ridiculous, it's impossible to take your eyes off the screen when the tortured and ill-looking Gibson is center stage (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of four)" 

"It's unclear what about life or depression Foster and Killen are really saying. A movie about a man hiding behind a puppet is also a story about a movie hiding behind its star (...) Rating: ★★ (out of four)" 

"'The Beaver' is almost successful, despite the premise of its screenplay, which I was simply unable to accept. (...) As good as Gibson is, his character is still caught between the tragedy of the man and the absurdity of the Beaver. (...) Rating: ★★½ (out of four)"