The Peanut Butter Falcon

The Peanut Butter Falcon is such a strange name for a movie that it almost feels like a gimmick. Ok, you got me.  Guess I need to watch the movie to find out why it's called that?

The root of the name is explained in the movie, and it's not particularly revelatory, but I won't give it away.  What I will say is this is a small, independent film that works it's Southern charm to great effect.  It's so immersed in Southern gothic mood that as I watched it I constantly kept thinking of it as a "feel good" cousin to Sling Blade.  This is one of the sweetest movies I've seen in a while, and it doesn't feel put-upon, it really resonates with heart and the value of simple kindness throughout.

The movie was filmed in Georgia and set in the Georgia/Florida landscape.  This is a story of people who are going through hard times.  It starts off with Shia LaBeouf's character, Tyler, crabbing in a small boat in swampy water, only to find out quickly that he's stealing the catch from other dock workers.  The weight of limited opportunity and economic despair is immediately defined in the first few scenes of the movie.

This is also the story of the value in just respecting one another, and learning how to get by in a world that constantly throws challenges your way.  Resilience in the face of despair is a big theme running through the story.  It's not giving anything away to say it's deliberately influenced by the story of Tom Sawyer.  Tom Sawyer is essentially Zack, a young man with Down syndrome who's being mishandled by the local government (he's placed in a retirement home for lack of care options).  Zack dreams of meeting the wrestler that he idolizes and taking a training class from him.  His mission in life is to break out of the facility and find the school.  Dakota Johnson plays the aide who cares for Zack and Bruce Dern puts in a brief but fun performance as one of the folks in the retirement home who wants to help Zack out on his mission.

Zack eventually comes across Tyler, and that's where the movie really takes off.  If it hadn't been for Shia's performance, I think this ends up being just a quaint little movie that's good for one viewing but probably doesn't resonate beyond that.  Shia is incredibly good in this movie.  As an actor, much has been made about his personal problems over the past few years.  This movie makes you wake up and remember how much promise he showed, even as a goofy high-energy kid in the Transformer films.  Shia's performance as Tyler is fully realized.  In a fair world, he'd be a shoe-in for an Oscar nomination.  He makes you completely believe and understand this character.  He holds the screen in quiet moments.  He delivers lines that make you smile more than once.  When he's onscreen, the movie takes on a different joy.  He's superb.

So, in summary, this movie is effective, its got heart and sweetness to spare, and it stands out thanks to Shia's authentic and delightful portrayal of a Huckleberry Finn who takes Zack under his wing and on a journey that they both really need.