A modest dream leads to a big adventure in The Peanut Butter Falcon, the feature debut of the writer/director duo Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz.
In the film, a young man with Down syndrome breaks out of his nursing home in order to become a professional wrestler. His idol has set up a wrestling school, and he must journey across the American south to reach this salvation. Along the way he befriends a modern outlaw and a sympathetic nursing home employee, and together they embark on a road trip laced with American mythology.
The film was a surprise hit at SXSW, winning an Audience Award and propelling Nilson and Schwartz into the spotlight. Both have worked on shorts before, but no one expected them to take material so ripe for saccharine sentiment and mold it into a crowd-pleaser.
Bolstering the film’s spotlight was a flashy cast, with Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson in lead roles and the likes of John Hawkes, Thomas Haden Church, and Bruce Dern popping up along the way. The film really hinges on Zack Gottsagen, though, who refreshingly is an actor with Down syndrome taking on the central role.
It may seem like a film you’ve seen a million times before, but the strong festival turn and distinctive flourishes makes The Peanut Butter Falcon worth keeping an eye on.
The Peanut Butter Falcon is directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz and stars Zack Gottsagen, Shia LaBeouf, and Dakota Johnson. It will be released in the US on August 9th, 2019. For international release dates, click here.
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