Out of the three days I do reviews on this is my least favourite. Not because the films I watch are bad, but because I have to choose from a million (promise that isn’t hyperbole) films every time. It is a nightmare. This week I had the added problem of having started a new job and an Arsenal game kicking off at 19:45, meaning I also had limited time. God my life is hard. So, I needed something short and sweet for this evening, and that helped me land on ‘The Peanut Butter Falcon’ (2019), a film that I knew very little about other than that one clip that always showed every time I opened Netflix (might have just been a me problem). And you know what, I really enjoyed it. The film follows Zac (Zack Gottsagen), a young man with Down Syndrome, who dreams of becoming a professional wrestler. After escaping the nursing home where he resides, he has a chance meeting with Tyler (Shia LaBeouf) who is looking to escape the town after angering the local fisherman. The two form an unlikely bond which grows only stronger as they venture towards their destinations.
I didn’t quite know what to expect from this film and I was pleasantly surprised with what turned out to be a very heart-warming adventure film which brought a genuine smile to my face on more than one occasion. It also made me want to make myself a raft and float down the rivers of Virginia. The way the film is shot and looks gives it a feeling of warmth, which matches both the obvious heat of the films locations as well as the emotional warmth that is prevalent throughout the whole film. It isn’t hugely beautiful in how it decides to shoot the locations, but there is so much natural beauty in the locations themselves that the film has a beauty regardless. I am basically saying that I love open water and this film is chock full of it. There are a few birds eye shots throughout the film that look great. The film doesn’t use them very often, but they were the more memorable singular shots from the film. I also really enjoyed the films soundtrack and score. It is the kind of stuff you would expect from a film set in Virginia (your acoustic guitar, banjo fare) and I do enjoy that kind of music from time to time. As well as being generally just good songs, they also managed to match the setting of the film as well as the emotion of the scenes they are used in and it is a soundtrack I would probably listen to separate from the film (in fact, just as I say that I have decided to listen to it on Spotify).
In terms of narrative the film is a simple one. Two very different characters go on an adventure and form an unlikely bond along the way. It is a narrative that has been used a ton of times throughout cinema history and is tried and tested at this point. There is also the added conflict of one of these characters having a somewhat difficult past which is chasing them along the way. In this case that falls to the character of Tyler who, after feeling his family are being wronged, burned the fishing equipment of the family who have wronged him, leading to this family to hunt him down and, potentially, attempt to kill him. This is the weakest aspect of the film in my opinion. It is kind of needed as it explains why Tyler and Zac are travelling through the wilderness rather than on the roads, but it isn’t developed particularly well and also seems to come back into the story at random points, breaking up the other, more engaging narrative. What makes it worse is that there is a second conflict involving Zac’s nurse, Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), who is travelling around looking for Zac. If her journey and eventually difficulties in getting Zac to return home was the major conflict I think the film would have been stronger, and it would also have given her a much more developed character because as is her character has very little to do. She does do a great job with it though, as do all the actors in the film. But the real power of the films lies with the performances and relationship between Shia LeBeouf and Zack Gottsagen. Both deliver great, emotionally driven performances, and they have an organic chemistry that gives so much heart and warmth to the film. All the scenes with the two just having conversation or getting into scrapes together are where the film really shines, and the organic nature of the relationship means that you are totally bought into it. Like I said up top, there were several moments in this film which made me genuinely smile cheek to cheek and all of them came due to the rapport that LaBeouf and Gottsagen shared.
Knowing almost nothing about this film going in was a blessing as it meant I could completely get sucked into what is happening, which is effectively to men walking, running, and sailing from Virginia to Florida. It may not sound the most exciting of films, but there is so much love, warmth, and heart oozing out of the film that I couldn’t help but enjoy it. When the film tries to implement a conflict is where it lost me a little and I would have been perfectly happy just watching LaBeouf, Gottsagen, and Johnson on an adventure, enjoying each other’s company. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone, especially if you’re looking for a pick me up kind of film. And let’s face it, we could probably all do with one of those this year. A genuine heart warmer which I dare you to watch without beaming at least once.