It’s hard to know how to take some movies inspired by real-life tragic events ripped from the newspaper headlines. They can sometimes be sobering and enlightening while others can be exploitative and irreverent. “Beautiful Boy” is a crushing drama that deals with the agony of a school shooting but from a different point of view. It’s obvious similarity to the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre is not by accident. Director and co-writer Shawn Ku’s connection to the college not only helped inspire the story but is one reason this intense subject matter is handled with such care and respect. The thrust of story doesn’t center on the horrible event itself. Instead its focus is on the devastating effects the massacre has on the shooter’s parents.

Maria Bello and Michael Sheen play Kate and Bill, a disconnected married couple on the road to separation. The one single thread holding them together is their son Sam (Kyle Gallner). Sam is a college freshman who has struggled adjusting to campus life. Sam calls home one night trying to hide his despondency from his parents. Bill and Kate attribute his emotion to the pressures of college life. But the next morning police arrive at their home to inform them that Sam has opened fire at his school killing 17 people before taking his own life. This all happens early in the movie while the rest of the film explores the brutal effects it has on Bill and Kate’s already strained relationship.

While Sam’s actions play a key role in the story they serve more as a backdrop. We don’t get inside Sam’s head and really examine his motives and some may have a problem with that. But it’s no problem for me since the movie’s intention is to look at a marriage on the brink of dissolution. Both Bello and Sheen deliver grounded performances that often times result in scenes driven by realistic, raw emotion. Their son’s acts cause them to face issues simmering beneath the surface of their marriage and their reactions feel natural and true. You watch as the chasm between them grows wider yet no one understands what they’re going through except each other. It’s an interesting dynamic that works more often times than not.

The movie does require the audience to automatically connect with Bill and Kate. We never get much insight into their relationship prior to the shooting. We see their relationship is strained but it’s hard to connect with them other than through their emotional devastation brought on by the loss of their son and the horrible circumstances surrounding it. I really felt for them especially as we see them deal with things such as the media camped out on their lawn, having to issue a public statement, and the stares of curious neighbors and co-workers all on top of their personal loss. But their relationship could have been easier to invest in if we were given more early in the film.

The movie also has an inconsistent visual style. At times it seems to be intentionally striving for a more artsy look with quick camera sweeps and strategic camera angles. Other times it looks very generic and by-the-book. I also wasn’t a big fan of the rather drab color palette. The movie seems soaked in blues and grays. Obviously this was intentional and I’m sure it was meant to convey the overall mood of the picture. But it was a little too much for me.

Even with its flaws “Beautiful Boy” can be a powerful film that handles some tricky and weighty subject matter with care and compassion. It was certainly a different approach seeing this type of horrifying event through the eyes of the parents and while their marriage isn’t opened as much as I wished, it’s impossible not to moved by the emotional distress this couple faces. Shawn Ku handles the material seriously and truthfully and some fine performances from Sheen and Bello help make up for the film’s shortcomings.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

Regardless of your thoughts on Mel Gibson’s real life personal struggles, there is no denying that he can still command the screen. In “The Beaver”, he gives one of the strongest performances of his career in a role that may touch close to home for him. Everything in this film revolves around Gibson and it’s his mesmerizing performance that sells not only his character but the main focus of what his condition is doing to his family. It’s a painfully authentic portrayal of mental illness and director Jodie Foster allows Gibson to make this complex character his own.

Gibson plays Walter Black, the CEO of a toy company who is facing serious struggles with depression. His wife Meredith (Foster) kicks Walter out of the house after seeing his lack of interest in getting treatment as well as the terrible effects his depression is having on their two sons. Walter comes across a beaver hand puppet in a dumpster and it becomes a channel of communication between him and everyone else. The beaver becomes therapeutic in the sense that Walter begins to gain a self-confidence. He begins mending fences with his family and even comes up with an idea that turns the struggling toy company around. But it’s all done through the mediator which is the beaver leading us to question whether or not Walter is progressing or simply developing a growing dependency.

While Walter is able to regain a relationship with Meredith and his younger son Henry (Riley Thomas Stewart), his oldest son Porter (Anton Yelchin) would rather he stay gone. There’s a huge disconnect between Porter and Walter and Porter’s greatest worry is that he will become his father. Their fractured relationship adds an interesting dynamic to the story but it feels underwritten. Sure, we understand the tension between the two but it seems that we have to do too much reading between the lines. Porter finds a little solace in an attractive but deceptive girl at school played by the wonderful Jennifer Lawrence. We get some fun scenes between the two as their relationship is actually fleshed out more than his and Walter’s.

“The Beaver” sold me on almost every point and the performances really click. I love every scene that Foster and Gibson share on screen and it reminded me of why these two have such strong track records. I only wish that Gibson and Yelchin had more screen time. Their relationship seems to be a crucial element of the story and therefore deserved more time than it received. While this is a moving and poignant drama there are also several scenes featuring some really funny dark humor. It all works together to create a really solid picture that, even with it’s few misfires, deserves more attention than it’s been given.