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| The Beaver |
Written by Kyle Killen, Walter Black (Mel Gibson) is suffering from extreme depression. As he spends most of his days sleeping or trying different methods of self therapy, his wife Meredith (Jodie Foster) hides behind work and helplessly watches him fall apart; his youngest son Henry (Riley Thomas Stewart) becomes a hermit; his oldest son Porter (Anton Yelchin) writes his classmate's essays for cash and secretly keeps a list of similarities between him and his father to avoid a similar future; and Walter's toy company heads toward bankruptcy. Walter soon hits bottom when Meredith kicks him out of the house, and he decides to get drunk and kill himself. The suicide attempt goes awry, and upon waking up, Walter is introduced to "the Beaver" – a beaver puppet he had found in the trash and put on his hand during his drinking binge – who suddenly speaks to him, in a British accent. With the help of the Beaver (a facet of Walter's personality), Walter gets a new lease on life and returns home. Everything begins to work out wonderfully – he reconnects with Henry through a new hobby in woodworking, the Beaver helps him to woo back Meredith, and the Beaver takes over as CEO and revives the toy company. The only holdout is Porter, who believes Walter has gone crazy and instead continues his list and works on writing a graduation speech for popular cheerleader and valedictorian Norah (Jennifer Lawrence).
