Jodie Foster, director of three major films and one of the brightest dramatic actresses of our time, made a film about a psychological crisis. In The Beaver, she resolutely raises the question of man’s dependence on what seems good to him, what he sees as saving.
… The minion of fate, the head of a beautiful family and a thriving toy industry, is experiencing depression. Communication with the world, even with his wife and sons, becomes almost impossible, he moves away, sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss of hopelessness. But one day a toy beaver is at hand, a doll that he makes wrist, a beaver that becomes tame — it is to him that Walter entrusts communication with the world on his behalf. It turns out to be easier — to contact with the help of a rag intermediary …
But the beaver also tames the owner. And soon Walter finds himself in a slavish dependence on a toy, striving to replace the owner with himself …
Psychologies : Beaver is a film about depression. Does it come from your personal experience? Have you experienced depression yourself?
Jodie Foster Jodie Foster: You are not? Have you ever thought that life is finite, that there, beyond the edge, is emptiness? Haven’t you felt that all the effort you put in, everything hostile and everything friendly, and success and luck, doesn’t really matter? What is stupid to live, because death is inevitable? Well, so do I. Walter is experiencing just such a depression — a decline in personal values in the face of the meaninglessness of life. I thought about overcoming such depression. The film itself for me is overcoming the “depression of meaning”.
The Beaver genre is defined as a dark comedy. Do you agree?
D. F. D. F.: Rather, it’s a compliment! But in fact, the film is also about the fact that a collision with the depths of our own personality can also plunge us into a state of hopelessness. They’re begging outside , scandals … Everyone sometimes needs a rag doll on his hand — to let off steam. But it’s comical that we can’t tame our own Mr. Hyde without harming our loved ones.
This pathos of the film in a strange way rhymed with life — «Beaver» was not released a year ago due to the scandal surrounding the lead actor: Mel Gibson, already known for his scandalous statements, allegedly beat his Russian girlfriend. And this could affect how the film is perceived …
D. F. D. F.: I can say one thing: only an artist of such charm and such tragedy was suitable for this role. An artist who easily moves from the comic to the hopelessly gloomy, able to put into action the darkest in himself. So as a director, I didn’t see any alternative. Plus, Mel and I have been friends since we were on Maverick together. And cheating on friends under the influence of the situation … At least this vice is not characteristic of my Mr. Hyde.