While Pursuing His Dream, a Young Man Finds His Wings

Zack Gottsagen (left) and Shia LaBeouf in
"The Peanut Butter Falcon"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

The image of Huckleberry Finn and his friend, Jim, rowing down the Mississippi River on a raft is an iconic scene that captures the true spirit of adventure, all thanks to author Mark Twain.  To travel like this and embrace whatever possibilities that the land around of you can offer is a thrilling experience, something that makes you feel invincible and immortal.

This image’s intrepidness is shown in a similar fashion today in Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz’s comedy-drama, “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” an inspiring, funny, and heartwarming film that exemplifies the ageless story of finding your calling and never letting anyone tell you it’s impossible.

Zak (Zack Gottsagen) is a young man with Down’s Syndrome who’s living in a retirement home.  One night, he manages to escapes, and he soon meets a fisherman named Tyler (Shia LaBeouf), who’s on the run from some people he’s wronged.  Zak tells Tyler his dreams of becoming a wrestler and attending a wrestling school that’s run by his role model, The Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church).  Tyler agrees to help Zak reach his destination, all while a caregiver from the retirement home, Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), tries to find Zak.

With the film having cast an actor who has Down Syndrome, that authenticity allows us to able to become more absorbed in the experiences of Gottsagen’s character because of how he can relate to Zak.  Despite being a newcomer, Gottsagen has as much talent as the more experienced actors and actresses with whom he's working.  It's a performance where Gottsagen is able to reach his character's dramatic depth that makes you feel his ambition for achieving his dream of becoming a wrestler, while also exhibiting wonderful timing for his comedic dialogue.  Throughout the movie, I assure you that Gottsagen will make you smile and your heart soar.     

LaBeouf appears to be having a comeback year, as it not only includes this film (which has one of his finest performances), but also his semi-autobiographical drama, “Honey Boy,” in which he stars and also wrote (this is due for a release in November).  He exhibits the edge that his character possesses when we first meet him, only to have it broken down little by little as he spends more time with Zak.  The way in which he becomes close friends and a sort-of brotherly figure for Zak provides a heartfelt view of how Tyler sees Zak for much more than he is, and the understated emotions with which LaBeouf imbues his performance shows a character who's going through a lot, but is trying not to show much of it because he doesn’t want to be hindered from having Zak arrive at his goal.

Johnson is terrific as a kindhearted individual who's committed to maintaining Zak's well-being, at first trying her hardest to make sure that he stays safe, but then opening up to him as he takes risks to prove that he's capable of doing to whatever he sets his mind.  Johnson shows how much her character is dedicated to her work as a caregiver, and it's a performance where we know that she, along with Tyler, will make sure that Zak has the best life that they can give him.

The screenplay by Nilson and Schwartz has quite a bit more going on than the narrative suggests.  The story isn't just about the adventure of the characters, but also the family that they build out of their encounters.  Through their interactions, they open up with each other, providing the right amount of details that make their histories clear enough, while also holding back on certain things to allow us to think deeper about through what these characters have been.

At certain point of the film, we have flashbacks of Tyler and his deceased brother, Mark (Jon Bernthal), which draw parallels between Tyler and Zak, and are able to do so without hitting us over the head with how similar the situation between the two pairs are.  There isn't any dialogue in these scenes, which adds to the emotion of these segments because the images speak for themselves as they show us how close Tyler was to his brother.

As directors, Nilson and Schwartz avoid the film becoming too saccharine and instead allow the relationships between the characters to build without the use of forced emotion.  Because of this, it’s all presented in a such a way that isn't anything short of genuine.  They’re also able to build some tension when Zak and Tyler must evade those whom the latter has wronged, among other dangers.  However, for as much peril as there is, there's also plenty of beauty to behold as Zak and Tyler make their way across North Carolina, and the cinematography by Nigel Bluck displays the grandness of the region that reflects how significant of an undertaking that the duo's travels are.

While "The Peanut Butter Falcon" is a testament to the hard work of achieving your dreams, it’s also a tribute to how friends, and family, can come from anywhere.

Grade: A