Taking inspiration from the slapstick brilliance of the silent-era of cinema, filmmaking friends Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews came up with the concept for their surrealist comedy Hundreds of Beavers whilst, unsurprisingly, at a bar. With the former directing, editing, and on visual effects duty and the latter acting in the leading role, the pair wrote and produced the DIY passion project together.
The 19th century plot follows applejack salesman Jean Kayak (Tews) whose Midwestern distillery is sensationally ruined by a gang of hungry beavers. Left distraught and with nothing to his name, he becomes the protégé of a master fur trapper (Wes Tank) and is soon out for revenge against the bucktoothed brigade that wronged him.
A busy mix of live-action, animation, practical effects, videogame graphics, and puppetry, the film uses a whole host of mediums and fun techniques to concoct its black-and-white frontier landscape. Playing out as though Buster Keaton is dropped head first into an episode of Looney Tunes, we are guided through the almost entirely wordless narrative by its wonderful score; the jaunty music and sound effects enhance the layers upon layers of visual gags and conduct the tone and emotion of the piece. There’s a relentless onslaught of artistry on display, and audiences might question if this ludicrous a premise can sustain its home-made style feature-length story. However, director Cheslik continually brings fresh ideas that keep the cogs of creativity churning until its final minute.
Most of the cast is made up from stunt performers in sports mascot beaver costumes, a lot rides on the central performer from co-creator Ryland Brickson Cole Tews. His wildly expressive face and rubber-band physicality completely sell the silliness as Kayak tries, fails, and tries again to get the better of his enemies. Theatre actor Doug Mancheski gives an enjoyably Popeye-esque turn as the mean-spirited Merchant, the only human antagonist who lets our antihero level up weaponry at the same rate as his number of furry victims. By his side throughout is his daughter The Furrier (Olivia Graves), who is at the heart of a subplot as Jean vies for her affection. This faux-romantic sidestep feels a touch unnecessary and somewhat cheapens the motivations of the protagonist in the final act.
Endlessly imaginative and like nothing else you’ll see on screen this year, it’s a feat in itself that such a niche film can be made in this climate, let alone make it into cinemas. Hundreds of Beavers is a monochrome delight from collaborators Cheslik and Tews, who exhaust every page in their book of tricks to craft this madcap absurdist vision.
Cinema Perspective 