1. In a Dark Wood

"In the middle of the path through life,
I suddenly found myself in a dark wood."
— Dante, Divine Comedy
2. A Fact Sheet

Each year about 15 million adult Americans suffer from clinical depression. That is 8% of the American population of age 18 and over. About 3% or 6 million Americans suffer from manic depression or bipolar depression each year. The population affected by depression is increasing each year. Specialists predict that by 2020, depression will be the second most common health problem throughout the world.

There are some other interesting stats. Women fall victim to depression about twice as often as men do. Since about 12% of women will suffer clinical depression over their lifetime, women need to be more cautious about depression. About 80% of the people suffering from depression now are not receiving any kind of medical treatment. Depression is the number one cause of suicides. Depression also weakens your immune system making you vulnerable for physical diseases.

3. Depression Is an Ink that Stains Everything It Touches

Walter Black (Mel Gibson), the head of a toy manufacturing company, was once able to do his job well and relate to his wife Meredith (Jodie Foster), his teenage son Porter (Anton Yelchin), and his elementary school-age son Henry (Riley Thomas Stewart). But all that is gone since Walter became, in his words, "a hopelessly depressed man." He sleeps constantly, has no energy, and has plunged into a deep abyss of anguish, apathy, and despair. It is "as if he's died and hasn't had the good sense to take his body with him."

Walter has seen a therapist, tried some popular drug treatments, and read self-help books. Meredith has lost patience with him and has asked him to leave since he hasn't spoken to the family in a long time. He is totally alienated from Porter who fears that he is vulnerable to his father's malaise. Walter is convinced that depression is "an ink that stains everything it touches."

4. Depression Is a Spiritual Illness

"Though depression is different for each of us, it has many elements that are common to all of us. These confirm that there is a physical process at work. Depression does seem to be a disease of both mind and body.

"Depression is a spiritual illness as well. It interferes with our ability to pay attention to this wonderful present moment, to see the goodness in this moment, and to feel the hope of moments after this one. It makes the gift of being a living human being seem a curse. Yet as we approach depression in a spiritual way — and with others' help — we can find healing not just for our mind and body, but for our suffering spirit."
— Philip Martin in The Zen Path Through Depression
5. Suicide Attempts

Walter feels cut off from his family and from the land of the living. In his motel room, he tries to commit suicide. He fails but the intention is real. Sapped of all energy and evacuated of any zest for life, he gives up. That is, until he pulls a stitched-up Beaver puppet out of a dumpster and bonds with this furry animal with buck teeth and soft eyes. Having lost his personal voice and descended into silence, Walter finds a new voice through the puppet Beaver, who is given a home on his left arm and hand. A new persona arises within Walter, and he is declares that he is ready to "blow up" his old world and start anew. To everybody else, the Beaver is a puppet, but to Walter he's a miracle.

6. An Explanation of Beaver Medicine

"Beaver is the doer in the animal kingdom. Beaver medicine is akin to water and earth energy, and incorporates a strong sense of family and home. . . . To understand this you might take a look at working and attaining a sense of achievement." — Jamie Sams and David Carson in The Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals by Jamie Sams and David Carson
7. Walter Tries to Forge a New Life Within the Confines of His Dark Wood

With Beaver as his helper and voice to the world, Walter emerges from his funk and reconnects with his younger son by building wooden things with him. He explains to Meredith that the use of the Beaver puppet is a part of his psychological therapy, and they are soon communicating and even having sex again. At work he is determined to resurrect the ailing toy company, and he does so with a new product that catches the fancy of the American public. Walter revels in success and fame.

8. Witnessing Other People's Pain

"I think witnessing other people's pain — especially if we love them — is as hard as bearing our own. Witnessing other people's suffering makes us vulnerable and helpless; it reminds us of our own unhealed wounds. So often we just want the sufferer to go away.
— Julia Thorne in You Are Not Alone: Words of Experience and Hope For the Journey Through Depression

Walter's battle with depression cuts to the quick in the life of his 17-year-old son Porter. He is ashamed of his father's illness and keeps a running display of post-it notes in his room of his father's habits he wants to avoid. While his mother and younger brother accept Walter back into their lives, Porter wants to have nothing to do with him. At school, Porter is busy writing papers for his classmates for money to pay for a cross-country trip to his favorite places. He is floored when Norah (Jennifer Lawrence), a cheerleader and class valedictorian, pays him $500 to write her speech to her graduating peers. In their blooming relationship, Porter discovers that everyone carries unhealed wounds and deserves love and compassion.

9. A Rollercoaster Ride of Emotions

The Beaver is beautifully directed by Jodie Foster (Little Man Tate) with her usual sensitivity to family dynamics and the small details which make all the difference in the lives and emotional feelings of parents and children. The ensemble cast is near perfect. The screenplay by Kyle Killen sheds light on the dark wood of depression and the strange ways in which some people escape from its clutches.

After leaving the screening room, we reflected on the patience and the respect needed to reap the rewards of this bold and engaging drama. Then we recalled a movie similar its bizarreness and spiritual messages: Lars and The Real Girl. In both movies, we are called to leap beyond the weirdness to savor the authentic love and the transformation depicted in the story.
10. A Return from the Abyss

"For those who have dwelt in depression's dark wood, and known its inexplicable agony, their return from the abyss is not unlike the ascent of the poet, trudging upward and upward out of hell's black depths and at last emerging into what he saw as 'the shining world.' There, whatever has been restored to health has almost always been restored to the capacity for serenity and joy, and this may be indemnity enough for having endured the despair beyond despair."
— William Syron in Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness

Special features on the DVD include an audio commentary with director Jodie Foster; deleted scenes; and "Everything is Going to Be O.K." - a featurette on the making of The Beaver.