It’s hard not to cringe a little when initially hearing the
description of “The Peanut Butter Falcon.” With its self-consciously twee title
and a plot involving an unlikely friendship that develops between an outlaw
fisherman and a wrestling-obsessed young man with Down syndrome as they raft
through the American South, it seems on paper to be the type of movie that
gives American indie filmmaking a bad name. One imagines a mawkish, cynical
exercise in pulling the heartstrings of its audiences with little else to
offer.
So it’s a
pleasant surprise to report that the film turns out to be a genuine joy. It’s sweet
and sincere, and first-time writer-directors Tyler Nilson
and Mike Schwartz handle a potential minefield with a disarming sensitivity.
Zak (Zack Gottsagen, making his feature acting debut) is a
22-year-old man with Down syndrome. Abandoned by his family and without a
guardian to provide him with adequate supervision, he’s been sent off to live
in a retirement home simply because no one can come up with a better place to
put him.
He spends
his time obsessively watching old VHS tapes featuring his idol, the
professional wrestler known as The Saltwater Redneck (Thomas Haden Church) and
dreaming of one day making his way to the training camp for aspiring wrestlers that
his hero runs in rural North Carolina.
And so, with
a bit of encouragement from his elderly roommate (Bruce Dern, always a
delight), Zak busts out of his room and sets off to pursue his dreams.
He ends up
hiding out in a boat owned by Tyler (Shia LaBeouf), a down-on-his-luck crab
fisherman who’s looking to escape some troubles of his own. He agrees to help
Zak on his journey, and with a bit of inspiration from “The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn,” the two set off down the river.
Charged with
finding Zak by her superiors, a concerned and sympathetic administrator named
Eleanor (a charming Dakota Johnson) sets off in search of the runaway.
Meanwhile Tyler is being pursued by a dangerous pair of trappers (John Hawkes
and rapper Yelawolf, menacing in their rather
underdeveloped roles) out for retribution for the wrongs he’s done to them and
their business.
“The Peanut
Butter Falcon” aims to be a feel-good film, part mismatched buddy comedy and
part road trip movie. We follow Zak and Tyler’s episodic adventure as the “two
bandits on the run” drift wherever the river may take them and encounter various
oddball characters along the way.
LaBeouf
comes with more than his share of offscreen baggage,
but there’s no denying the guy can act. He’s a wonderful performer, investing
his character with a raw vulnerability that bubbles forth as we see Tyler still
mourning the death of his older brother (played in flashbacks by Jon Bernthal). He makes us believe the character’s arc, the
begrudging acceptance of his new role as a reluctant guardian blossoming into
something closer to familial affection. Two people in search of a human
connection, the bond formed between the pair gives the film its strong
foundation.
But none of
this would work as well as it does without Gottsagen.
Nilson and Mike Schwartz met the performer at a camp
for actors with disabilities before deciding to build a screenplay around him,
and he’s a natural on screen. His presence helps ensure that his characters
isn’t just a tool to spur a change in others. He’s a fully-developed and
complicated individual; a young man desperate for a chance to finally
experience life. The script doesn’t condescend to him, never asking us to pity
his character, and allowing him to be funny without becoming the butt of the
joke.
Ultimately,
the film’s plot machinations don’t develop in particularly surprising fashion,
but its realistic, rough-and-tumble Outer Banks
setting blends shockingly well with an almost fable-like tone. Even when its
climax threatens to overwhelm us with contrived resolutions, the story’s
emotions feel honest and earned. A joyful tale told with warmth and care, “The
Peanut Butter Falcon” is a heartfelt story about people rediscovering their own
self-worth and, in seeing themselves through another’s eyes, learning the value
they still have to offer the world.
This article appears in Aug 21-27, 2019.
