At some point in the past decade, for Mel Gibson, smart went crazy. He fell from the heights of being one of Hollywood’s lauded stars to a drunken, spousal abusing, anti-Semitic raving lunatic. bMentally, what started his personal decline we’ll never know, but one thing we can be sure of is that The Beaver may just be the platform for his slow journey back.

The Beaver is the story of toy company CEO Walter Black. A chronically depressed man who finds himself kicked out of his family home with nowhere to turn except the bottle and suicide. Bleak premise? Yes and this all happens within the first ten minutes of the movie. After failing to end his life, Walter wakes up, his hand firmly lodged in a puppet that talks to him in a cockney accent. The Beaver then begins to guide Walter, helping him re-connect with his family and reestablish his toy company.

Produced by Steve Gollin (Being John Malkovich) and superbly directed by Jodi Foster, The Beaver, at its heart, is dealing with the effects that mental illness has on sufferers and their families. While Walter gives up his power and identity to The Beaver, seemingly improving his attitude and outlook, his family has to endure the insanity of the situation. On One hand (pardon the pun), it’s inspiring to watch Walter be consumed by The Beaver then try to wrestle back control mentally and physically. On the other, due to the focus on Walter, it stops supporting characters developing any depth and reason for the audience to follow their journeys within the film.

For all its left field weirdness, The Beaver is a good movie. The absurd premise works because of Gibson’s excellent performance in portraying a man with deep personal problems. Demonstrating art sometimes imitates life.