Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 2 ratings
A down-on-his-luck crab fisherman embarks on a journey to get a young man with Down syndrome to a professional wrestling school in rural North Carolina and away from the retirement home where he’s lived for the past two and a half years.
The Peanut Butter Falcon is a warm, heartfelt road movie elevated significantly by its performances, particularly Zack Gottsagen's genuine and disarming portrayal of Zak alongside Shia LaBeouf's naturalistic work — both form a chemistry that carries the film. The plot follows a fairly familiar buddy-road-trip structure with predictable beats, and the cinematography captures the Southern waterways pleasantly without being visually inventive. Novelty earns a modest mark for its sincere focus on a protagonist with Down syndrome and the authentic humanity it brings, though the overall story framework remains conventional. The ending is emotionally satisfying but somewhat tidy.