So Matt and I went to see “The Beaver” last night (I had free tickets).

Wut.

The promotion makes you think it’s a really light movie about a guy who’s depressed but eventually learns to deal with it. And it looks like the kind of movie where my mother would be all “Oh, Mel and Jodie! This will be lovely.”

WRONG.

Usually, trailers for movies show pretty much the whole movie, which I suppose is alright because you know what you’re in for (and they’re usually super predictable anyway). “The Beaver” on the other hand, only shows you about 1/3rd of the movie, during which it’s still just a lighthearted drama-esque thing.

And then the clouds come out the sun says it’ll never come out again.

It’s an extremely dark movie, and in parts very disturbing. Perhaps its art is in that you can’t really pinpoint a time, but suddenly you realise it’s stopped being happy with bits of pathos and has become downright depressing.

The performances are generally good, though Foster gets off to a bit of a rough start (perhaps acting and directing is something she’s still getting used to). And is it a little too close for comfort for Gibson to be playing a depressed alcoholic?

Maybe.

The “messages” of the movie seem to come from every direction, and leave you wondering what the intention was. When you have a problem, the thing to help you get through it can become so permantent that you can’t move on; Family is important and success means nothing without it; The beaver represents the “face” we put up to pretend that every’s ok; or maybe it represents the dependancy of a more physical nature.

There are some genuinely disturbing things, which, at the time, I considering could be awkwardly hilarious out of context. And maybe those will be the scenes that will turn some people off: “It’s gone too far” “Now that’s just ridiculous”.

In the end, you’re left wondering what you’ve just seen. In some ways, it’s a bit of an indie film, with a mainstream subplot (with their son and that girl) tacked on for comfort. But it’s also mainstream, and not just with the actors. Cliché sits somewhat uncomfortably beside an original and often though-provoking story, though I’m not sure I needed such thoughts to be provoked.

It feels like it’s an important film, but it also feels like it’s trying to be so many things that it won’t find an audience. And the “important film” part is undermined in some respects because of its attempts to please a mainstream audience.

Am I glad I saw this movie? Yes and no. Would I see it again? Probably not.

It’s certainly interesting viewing. But consider yourself warned.

(Maybe after reading this, you’ll see it and be all “It was nowhere NEAR as disturbing as I expected and it’s actually a little uplifting / ridiculous / stupid / fun.” So go in when you’re feeling super happy about life and see how you feel THEN.)