Back to trending
The Beaver

The Beaver

Drama · 2011

Suffering from a severe case of depression, toy company CEO Walter Black begins using a beaver hand puppet to help him open up to his family. With his father seemingly going insane, adolescent son Porter pushes for his parents to get a divorce.

Movie details

The Beaver

“He's here to save Walter's life.”

2011 Drama 1h 31m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

Suffering from a severe case of depression, toy company CEO Walter Black begins using a beaver hand puppet to help him open up to his family. With his father seemingly going insane, adolescent son Porter pushes for his parents to get a divorce.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Beaver?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Trials of Cate McCall

The Trials of Cate McCall

Drama · 2013

In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge

Drama · 1999

An acclaimed stage performer, Dorothy still struggled with the challenge of her color, in a time that wouldn't let some stars in by the front door. Yet against the odds she beat out many more famous rivals for the role of "Carmen Jones", becoming the first black woman ever nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. Marriages and affairs would break her heart, but her heart was strong. Seductive and easily seduced, she was born to be a star - with all the glory and all the pain of being loved, abused, cheated, glorified, undermined and undefeated. Here was a woman who wouldn't wait in the wings. Halle Berry stars as Dorothy Dandrige.

A Mouthful of Air

A Mouthful of Air

Drama · 2021

Julie is a new mom and children's book author, who escapes into the bright Crayola-colored world of her creation in order to leave behind the darkness caused by her post-partum depression.

The Safety of Objects

The Safety of Objects

Drama · 2002

In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.

Goodbye June

Goodbye June

Drama · 2025

Four siblings' lives change drastically when their ailing mother takes a turn for the worse over the holiday season.

Lucky Them

Lucky Them

Drama · 2013

More interested in partying and flirting with young musicians than work, veteran rock journalist Ellie Klug has one last chance to prove her value to her magazine’s editor: a no-stone-unturned search to discover what really happened to long lost rock god, Matt Smith, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Teaming up with an eccentric amateur documentary filmmaker, Ellie hits the road in search of answers.

Iron Jawed Angels

Iron Jawed Angels

Drama · 2004

Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.

Strange Weather

Strange Weather

Drama · 2016

Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.

Bastard Out of Carolina

Bastard Out of Carolina

Drama · 1996

A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.

Hounddog

Hounddog

Drama · 2008

A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Jodie Foster

Written by

Kyle Killen

Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson

Walter Black

Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster

Meredith Black

Anton Yelchin

Anton Yelchin

Porter Black

Riley Thomas Stewart

Riley Thomas Stewart

Henry Black

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence

Norah

Kelly Coffield Park

Kelly Coffield Park

Norah's Mom

Zachary Booth

Zachary Booth

Jared

Court is in session

Put The Beaver on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.