The Netflix Tearjerker Coming-of-Age Drama with Two Huge A-List Stars You Need to See

I had genuinely come to enjoy Shia LaBeouf’s films, but I didn’t really know Dakota Johnson yet, so I didn’t feel a sense of urgency. 

Then, one weekend a couple of years ago, my husband and I turned it on, and I was instantly hooked. 

LaBeouf plays Tyler, a troubled young fisherman in North Carolina who finds himself out of work and out of luck. His rivals, Duncan and Ratboy, rough him up, and to pay them back, he burns all of their gear and makes a run for it. 

Meanwhile, Zak, a bright and funny young man with Down syndrome in a care facility, makes yet another escape from the home with the help of his elderly roommate, played by Bruce Dern. One of his case workers, Eleanor, sets out to find him. 

Both on the run, Zak and Tyler meet up and combine forces, Tyler reluctantly. 

In Peanut Butter Falcon, LaBeouf plays an excellent, fast-talking, bothered young man with a heart who takes Zak under his wing but is also constantly annoyed by him.

Zak is determined to become a professional wrestler, and, he tells Tyler, he is off to meet his hero, Salt Water Redneck, who will train him to go pro. Tyler figures this goal is as good as any, and the two set off on their journey, taking a makeshift canoe down the river. 

It is at this point in Peanut Butter Falcon that I realized I was essentially watching a Huckleberry Finn story, with these two unlikely friends setting out for freedom.

By the time Eleanor catches up with them, she realizes she’s just as invested in Zak’s freedom as Tyler is, and they form an interesting trio, living off the land and on the run from the state and Duncan and Ratboy.

Peanut Butter Falcon, written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, is filled with passion, emotion, realism, and naturalism.

The two met Zack Gottsagen, who plays Zak, at a camp for actors with disabilities, and Zack told Tyler and Michael that he’d like to work on a project with him.

It is brilliant that Nilson and Schwartz were able to pull together this screenplay, which was partially inspired by Gottsagen’s desire to become an actor and Mark Twain’s epic coming-of-age novel.

The Peanut Butter Falcon twists and turns feel seamless, working chronologically and logically toward the climax, Zak meeting Salt Water (played spectacularly by Thomas Hayden Church), and forward toward ultimate resolution. 

I found myself rooting for all three of these people, who felt so real to me, to make it, all while stressing out that this independent film was definitely going to kill someone off and leave me heartbroken. 

REVIEW SCORE

The scenes between LaBeouf and Johnson are marvelous, with genuine chemistry, so that you can’t help but forget these are actors doing a job. That’s the best kind of chemistry. And Gottsagen is just heartwarming, making you want to aid in his escape and success alongside his partners. 

It’s no surprise that Rotten Tomatoes gives Peanut Butter Falcon a 95%, and I give it a clean 5 out of 5 stars. 

I’ll be watching it when it streams on Netflix again on May 5, and I strongly urge you to do the same.