I'd like to discuss the cast:
- Jodie Foster ("The Brave One") not only anchors the cast as the long-suffering wife and mother, she also directed this piece. We have come to expect top-notch work from this classy professional, and she doesn't let us down.
- Mel Gibson ("Edge of Darkness") proves again what a fine actor he is. Nothing I can say will change your mind about this guy on a personal level, so trust me when I say he is convincing as a clinically depressed man who has finally reached a point where his only means of communication is through a hand puppet, the eponymous beaver.
- Anton Yelchin ("Terminator Salvation") is amazing as the son who is scared to death he is taking after his father. This boyish-looking actor has been impressing us since he was eleven years old! He plays high-school students, murder victims, teenage con men and of course, he is Chekov in the newly revamped "Star Trek" franchise; in THAT one his hilarious (indecipherable) Russian accent is pretty authentic, he was born in St. Petersburg.
- Jennifer Lawrence ("Winter's Bone") is the class valedictorian who needs a speech writer. This is a lighter role than that earlier one but she is very good.