This might have been better as an intimate drama about mental illness and it doesn't have time to explore all of its themes.

It's a bummer of a movie -- dark and at cross-purposes with both itself and any image do-over [Gibson] might be seeking.

This is a wholly wasted opportunity for Gibson -- and a disappointing misfire from Foster.

Are you willing to watch a good actor at work, or is the mugshot and scandals all you see and hear? Where you come from with your perspective on that essential question will (unfortunately) factor into how well you like or dislike The Beaver.