It was a great misfortune (but not a forced error) that the movie The Beaver came out just when pretty much everybody in the country was mad at its star, Mel Gibson. Alas, Mel’s particular form of weirdness doesn’t fall within the bounds of Acceptable Deviancy under Hollywood rules, so not many people saw it. But you can get it on DVD, which I did this weekend, and I found it well worth viewing.

The story is of Walter Black (Gibson), the president of a once-dynamic toy company now drifting aimlessly, due to Walter’s chronic depression. Walter inherited the company from his father who (we are informed almost parenthetically) himself fell into depression and committed suicide. Walter has a loving, frustrated wife, Meredith (Jodie Foster), an adoring young son, and an older son, Porter (Anton Yelchin), who hates him out of fear that he himself will end up as his grandfather did, and as his father seems likely to.

When Meredith finally kicks Walter out of the house for the sake of the children’s safety, he (in a remarkable scene of black comedy) attempts unsuccessfully to commit suicide. It’s in this awful moment that The Beaver, a discarded puppet he found in a dumpster, starts “talking” to him. (It’s always very clear that Walter is saying the words, but the personality differences are great enough that the Beaver takes on a weird reality of his own.) The Beaver tells him he’s come to save his life, and under his inspiration Walter revitalizes his company with new ideas, and reconnects with his youngest son and his wife (though she’s very skeptical). Son Porter alone refuses to play along, seeing in the Beaver the flowering of the insanity that scares him. (There’s also a very nice subplot about Porter courting a girl at school, trying to find his own way to be a man while terrified of himself.)

Alas, there is no true salvation in Beavers. What started as a useful morale booster becomes a crutch, demanding Walter’s total worship, love, and devotion. What Walter is finally forced to do to get himself free comes straight out of the Gospels. (I believe, though I can’t be sure, that there’s a lot of intentional Christian subtext in this picture. Take note, if you will, of the portrait hanging outside Walter’s hospital room at the end of the movie.)

If you’re expecting a solution to the problem of depression from this movie, it’s not here. One of the great themes, repeated more than once, is that the cliche, “Everything will be OK,” is a lie. Life takes hard work. Life is a battle. We need to fight for our lives and those we love.

I recommend The Beaver. Cautions for language and material too disturbing for younger viewers.