Friday Film Review: The Peanut Butter Falcon

David from Hillcrest Library reviews a film from our DVD Collection each Friday.
This week: The Peanut Butter Falcon, directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz

I’ve always been a fan of professional wrestling. Not so much so that I would give up on my life to become a wrestler, but I’ve certainly enjoyed the theatricality of it, the thrall it has on its audience, and the ability to blur fiction and reality. The Peanut Butter Falcon is about a young man with Down Syndrome, who escapes from an assisted living facility to pursue his dream of being a professional wrestler. He befriends a wayward fisherman, and the two find themselves on the run from a social worker. Poignant, often hilarious, and incredibly human, The Peanut Butter Falcon is a brilliant watch. It is full of warmth, joy, excellent writing, direction, and performances from newcomer Zack Gottsagen, Shia LaBeouf (in his best ever performance), and Dakota Johnson. The three leads are perfectly cast, each bringing a new layer to the film. Most importantly, it is a film about living your dreams, never giving up, and the fantastical world of wrestling, with all its troubles.