Review : The Peanut Butter Falcon

Zak is a 22 year old with down syndrome living in a retirement home, because he has no family to be taken care of. He is enthusiastic, ambitious and moreover he has a dream. He wants to be a wrestler, adored by many, like his hero - Salt Water Redneck. He has a plan too, to achieve his dream. Escape from the facility, get to the Redneck's school of wrestling and learn the craft from the master himself. He seeks the help from the elderly with his master plan but fails. His best friend in the place is Eleanor, who warns him to drop his attempts at running away but Zak is hell bent on sticking to his plan and one night he successfully executes it to perfection with a helping hand. 

Meanwhile, we meet Tyler who is a fisherman, trying to make his ends meet with petty thefts, such as stealing crabs from the nearby sellers. Eventually he gets caught and gets into a confrontation with those in charge and gets into a situation where he has no choice but to flee. That is when both Zak's and Tyler's path crosses. Though, Tyler tries to get rid of Zak from his journey, they end up having their journey together. Zak is determined and has a dream whereas Tyler is confronting his own demons from the past to escape from. There, begins the journey of a special friendship between the two while running away from those who chases them for different reasons.

In truth, Peanut Butter Falcon is a story which has been told in different ways, many times, over the years, with predictable cliches. But the makers of the film gets highly successful in bringing a fresh feeling to this same old "feel good" story. Primarily, the acting of the character Zak, played by Zack Gottsagen who is dealing with down syndrome in real life, is remarkably brilliant and brings a sense of authenticity to the whole environment. His companion on his journey towards his dream, Tyler, played by Shia LaBeouf has been so good that it finally makes us feel good that he is getting a grip back on his acting career with his latest choices of movies and justifying his potential. Dakota Johnson and Thomas Haden Church chips in with equally likeable characters and giving the movie the essential "feel good" feeling.

Two things which struck while watching Peanut Butter Falcon are, the breathtaking cinematography by Nigel Bluck and the subtle message the movie directs towards the general public on their view towards those who are with down syndrome. More than protection and compassion they ought to have the rights to freedom and chasing their own dreams like anyone else. Nigel Bluck with his carefully captured scenes makes it a worthy contender for the choice for best cinematography along with "The last black man in San Francisco" ( which is still a runaway winner for me so far ), when the Oscar bells starts ringing by the dawn of New Year. 

All credits to Tyler Nilson and Michael Shwartz, both co-writers and co-directors, for their bold casting and refreshing images they brought to screen with this simple yet capturing beautiful movie.