"...All Of My Wishes..."
The Peanut Butter Falcon – Film Review
I know we've been to this territory before and as the weary father of a 30-year old son with severe Autism - this film would have a lot of triggers for me that are too painful to even think about.
Based in North Carolina, the barely surviving fishing town and inappropriate care home settings where Tyler and Zak live are scenic yet sparse and peopled with believable characters who are just as broke as our heroes (Shia LeBeouf and Zak Gottsagen in the lead roles as Tyler and Zak).
In lonely flashbacks, Tyler dreams of his bigger brother Mark and their beer nights, laughs by the fish pots, nets and traps – an obvious anchor in his aimless life (Jon Bernthal making a huge impression even if he does get little to say). But then just one-step away from yet another confrontational kicking, fate trusts a chubby young man at Tyler with a pudding-bowl haircut, stunted speech, white underpants and not a lot else to his name. Tyler can either leave him this obviously ill protected person by the wooden quayside or take him on-board, a reluctant decision at first that will eventually change him – and for the better.
The naive Zak and turmoil-inside Tyler are both almost childishly headstrong, their confront-or-die way of living often bringing them more grief than satisfaction – constantly in the face of authorities that are either too despondent or tired to care. Other times people chase our duo with guns and could indeed use them (the multi-tattooed Yelawolf and John Hawkes). The simple-talking Zak is easily led too, so vulnerable and open to abuse by rednecks - while Tyler just wishes he could rise above the filth of his teeshirt and baseball cap sometimes.
As they walk miles on foot through heat and flies and tall fields, traverse dangerous rivers and float on makeshift rafts through glades and light fires and catch fish on beaches where they can sleep free and dream - their car-crash lives somehow melt into an unlikely friendship - one escaping past mistakes – the other seeking a wrestling coach he has seen on video tapes (Thomas Haden Church). Tyler just wants to get one thing right, and doing right by this unguarded and wound-exposed young man could be it.
The casting is extraordinarily good, with top actors who you suspect know they're working on a wee gem. And the two leads - Shia LeBeouf and Zak Gottsagen - knock it out of the ballpark so many times as their characters move begrudgingly towards each other.
Added into the stew, the beautiful Dakota Johnson plays Eleanor - a young lady carer for this vulnerable Downs Syndrome man who is at the mercy of the system. It was maybe her trusting fault that let Zak free in the first place and now her boss wants him found regardless. Zak has no back-up family to route for him and after escape could be considered a flight risk. As she goes door to door in her neatly sprayed care-home van, Eleanor knows that Zak could be sent someplace much worse. Helped all of this along the way – we also get the gruff real-world charms of Bruce Dern, Thomas Haden-Church and John Hawkes - actors who lift anything up that they lend a hand to.
"The Peanut Butter Falcon" is a little film with a big heart and traversing such dangerous waters as 'special needs' and highly unlikely bonds while on the run - it still managed to move me, made me laugh and occasionally had dialogue between the two lost souls that made blubb.
As they float on their makeshift raft into an unknown and maybe even hostile future – simple Zak notices Tyler is lost in another head-down low moment. So putting his arm around his bearded gruff new buddy, Zak helpfully offers - "...I am going to give you all my wishes for my birthday..." (a big deal for him). My equally worn-out missus cried at dialogue like this - a genuinely beautiful moment.
"The Peanut Butter Falcon" is a hopeful tale of humanity winning in a world too often lacking either. Well done to all involved...
